We're All Mad Here
by idiotique
Summary: When Roxas is forced to volunteer at the psych ward he befriends a pyromaniac, a sadist, a musician who can 'see' sounds and an artist with a mysterious past. As he spends more time with them he begins to realize everything isn't as it seems...
1. Prologue: One Hundred Hours

_A/N: This isn't gonna be a very long story - it'll be less than 20 chapters, that's for sure. This had been in the back of my head for a really long time, and I finally got around to writing it._

_Hope this satisfies you._

_--_

**Prologue: One Hundred Hours.**

Roxas couldn't sit still.

His fingers twitched on his lap and he kept crossing and uncrossing his legs at five-minute intervals. The corners of his thin mouth sagged downwards in a frown and his cobalt hues shifted around the small office, trying to find something else to focus on.

"Roxas," Mrs. Yamada spat impatiently, catching his attention; the school's guidance counselor was staring dully at him through shiny glasses lenses, "I know how school has never been much of a..._priority_ to you, but there's only four months left 'till the end of your last year of high school and you haven't completed _one_ single hour of community service. If you hate school so much why aren't you doing anything to make sure you don't have to come back next year?"

He rolled his eyes and leaned into his palm. "Look, Mrs. Yamada, I-"

"I don't want to hear any of your excuses," She held up a hand to stop him, and his hand tightened into an irritated fist, "After nearly four years of having to put up with them it's getting a little tiring and repetitive." She ignored the nasty glare he was giving her and adjusted her glasses before continuing. "You know you need to complete one hundred hours of community service to graduate, Roxas - it's mandatory in the school curriculum!"

"Yes," He muttered through gritted teeth, "I know."

Mrs. Yamada's shoulders depressed in a defeated sigh. "You're lucky I'm friends with your mother," She tutted, "Because if I weren't I wouldn't be telling you right now that I've already taken the first step for you."

He raised a blond eyebrow, confused. "What do you mean?"

She bent over to pull something out from one of her desk drawers; when she straightened up she handed him a couple of important-looking papers. "I've signed you up as a volunteer here," She explained with a somewhat impish smile on her aged features, "And you will be reporting here from Monday to Friday for two hours until you've completed your community service. It shouldn't take you any more than two and a half months, give or take."

"Er," Roxas squinted at the headline of the paper on top of the small stack she had given him, "Isn't this...this is a-"

"Yes," She smiled sweetly, "It is, Roxas. You should call them tonight just to verify everything." She gestured towards the door behind him. "You're free to go."

He stood up abruptly, his eyes still running over the document in his hands. Frustration licked at his stomach lining and he tried his best to keep his temper under control. "Okay," He clenched his teeth together to prevent himself from lashing out, "If I have any...difficulties...I can just call you, right?"

"Of course, Roxas. Say hi to your mother for me."

He stormed out of the office, muttering angrily under his breath. He was so distracted by his own thoughts that he forgot about his brother and half-sister, the both of whom were patiently waiting outside for him the entire time.

"Hey," Sora stood up to chase after his brother, who was still stomping down the hallway; he clapped a hand on his shoulder and stood back when the blond yelped in surprise, "Whoa," He chuckled, holding up his hands, "Sorry to scare you."

Once he calmed down Roxas showed his brother the stack of papers in his hands. "Look what the old hag signed me up for."

"I thought it was a good thing she signed you up for something," Xion took the documents from her half-brother and scanned them carefully with Sora; of course, being the goody-two-shoes in the family the both of them had already finished their hours way before they entered their senior year, "Wow, this is insane - _literally."_

"Tell me about it," The blond groaned as his sister returned the papers to him, "She signed me up to volunteer at a frigging _mental institution! _I'm gonna be stuck there for two and a half months with people who are completely out of their minds!" He rolled his eyes at his siblings, who were trying very hard to restrain their laughter. "Like I don't have to deal with _that_ every day…"

His brother shrugged. "Maybe she's implying something."

Roxas playfully punched him in the shoulder. "Shut up." He sighed and brushed his fingers through his hair, staring dismally at the documents in his hands. "I bet she already told Mom."

Xion shook her head in amusement as she pushed the doors open; the three siblings circled towards the back of the school, where the student parking lot was. "At least she'll be happy knowing _all_ of us will be graduating this year."

"Ha-ha." Roxas clambered into the car and waited for Sora and Xion to stop fighting on who got to sit in shotgun (the latter won, like always). He started up the clanking old sedan and veered out of the parking lot, beginning the short ten-minute drive back home.

"So I've take it that Mrs. Yamada told you about your volunteer work?" Their mother greeted them at the door the minute they arrived home; her eyes were staring at the papers in her blond son's hands, "It's a very prestigious place, I've heard."

"Yeah," Roxas muttered as he kicked off his shoes, "Prestigious as in they've got the craziest people in the country stuffed into one building." He glanced behind him and noticed that his brother and sister had already gone up the stairs.

"I'm serious, Roxas," She scolded, "This place is under the supervision of one of the world's best psychiatrists and psychologists. I'm pretty sure you'll be in good hands."

"You're making it sound as if I'm being admitted into the place instead of just volunteering." He smirked as his mother laughed.

"Oh, you know what I mean." His mother gestured towards the stairs. "Now you get started on your homework - dinner'll be ready in a couple hours or so."

When he reached his room Roxas unceremoniously dumped his bag onto the floor and reached for his cordless phone. He squinted at the number printed on one of the sheets of paper he was holding and hastily dialed it.

"Hello and thank you for calling Twilight Town Psychiatric Facility," Said a somewhat monotonous male voice, "How may I help you?"

"Hi," Roxas' fingers were drumming against the phone, "I'm Roxas Takashi and I'm just calling to confirm that I'm registered at your hospital-" He blinked incredulously when he realized how odd that sounded, "-a-as a volunteer, I mean, not a...not a patient."

"Give me a second and I'll check our records." The click-clacking of a computer keyboard's buttons filled in the silence for a few minutes. "Yes, according to our records it seems that you've been registered as a volunteer since yesterday afternoon."

_Great. _"That's perfect - er, do you know when I'm supposed to start?"

"Tomorrow would be preferred," The bored voice replied almost immediately, "Come in whenever you wish, but remember to sign in at the main office first."

"Alright - thanks a lot, bye." Roxas cancelled the call and rumpled the back of his hair before setting the phone back on the cradle. His eyes automatically scanned the document in his hands one last time:

_Dear Volunteer,_

_It is with great pleasure and honour to welcome you to our psychiatric facility. I assure you that you will have a congenial and memorable experience here at the facility, and that you will emerge from its gates with a new personality and maybe even a new outlook on life. To hear that young people like you are showing interest in helping others with mental instabilities is both heartwarming and inspiring, and it only makes my anticipation to meet you stronger._

_At our facility your job is simple: to keep our patients company. Unfortunately many of the patients staying within our walls do not have many visitors and they tend to get very lonely. Our patients are kind and most are people-friendly so there is nothing to be concerned about; patients that need special attention are kept in another wing so there is absolutely no risk of employee attack._

_There are currently three directors who are in charge of the ward: Dr. Xehanort Ushiba, his brother Dr. Xemnas Ushiba and myself, Dr. Ansem Mafuyu. Along with our medical staff we have dedicated our lives in researching abnormal behaviour in the human mind, and we hope to find the cure to the copious mental diseases that are hampering many people's everyday lives._

_With that being said I will be patiently awaiting your arrival, and again I hope you will have a splendid time with us here at the Twilight Town Psychiatric Facility._

_With Best Regards,_

_Dr. Ansem Mafuyu_

_Director and Head Psychiatrist of the Twilight Town Psychiatric Facility_

Roxas scoffed and carelessly tossed the letter on his desk. _"I assure you that you will have a congenial and memorable experience here at the facility," _He echoed the letter's words in an airy, mocking tone, _"And that you will emerge from its gates with a new personality and maybe even a new outlook on life._ Yeah, my ass."

He ruffled his hair and stretched his arms; a little nap before homework would not hurt. He unfurled the sheets, crawled underneath them and yawned as his head hit the pillow. Thoughts and worries over tomorrow washed away completely as he slipped out of consciousness, and everything became black.


	2. New Friends

_A/N: To those who show concern over the fact that Xehanort and Xemnas are co-running the hospital, do not fear - keep in mind that they're the _sane_ ones in this story =) Plus I'm not big fans of them (both creep me out to no end), so they probably won't make anything more than brief cameos._

_Oh, and I'll only be updating this story once a week and I'll be keeping the chapters short. It keeps the story more suspenseful this way =) Sorry if I'm being evil, but hey - it'll keep you on the edge of your seat at least._

_--_

**New Friends.**

He had been dreading this moment since he woke up this morning.

It was now the end of school, which meant that he had to drive all the way to the other side of town to begin work as a volunteer as the Twilight Town Psychiatric Institute, which also meant that he had to work with crazy people.

The thought wasn't exactly uplifting, and with his brother and sister teasing him about it the entire day it didn't help with his mood either.

"Hey, it's not our fault you decided to procrastinate on your hours," The brunet chuckled when Roxas dropped him and Xion off at home, "You shoulda volunteered at the rec centre with me and Hayner!"

"Or at the daycare with Olette and I." Xion added cheekily.

"Thanks for telling me at least two years too late," The blond grumbled as Sora shut the door, "I'll see you guys in a couple of hours...if I survive, that is."

"If you haven't called by six I'll start on your obituary." His half-sister gave him the thumbs-up as he shifted gears to back out of the driveway.

It was a little bit of a drive since the ward was on the other side of town, and it was a bit lonely too since he was the only one volunteering. He was already regretting not tagging along with his brother and sister when they did their work two or so years ago; volunteering with them and their friends would've definitely made time fly faster. Roxas slumped depressingly in his seat and tried to focus on the road, but his mind was preoccupied with how disastrous he knew things were going to be when he starts his work; what if some madman tries to gouge his eyes out with a spork or something? He shivered at the thought.

The location of the psych ward was a little unusual, but then again it kind of made sense; it was on the outskirts of town, just fifteen or so minutes off the freeway. The large, beige-bricked building was situated in the middle of a dense evergreen forest - probably for safety reasons. There was a large black gate with a couple security guards standing in front, and Roxas had to state his name and purpose and show them some form of identification so that they would let him through.

The parking lot was at the back of the building, so he had to circle the entire thing just so he could go through the main doorway. The interior of the mental hospital was white and bland, just like any other hospital, but the aura was sort of different - it was eerier, in a sense. He could hear voices stemming from the different rooms and the above floors: laughter, low muttering, screeching, frantic blabbering…

"Hello," The same male monotonous voice that he was speaking to on the phone yesterday spoke up, and Roxas turned around to face the front desk. A young man with glasses and grey hair falling over one eye was sitting behind the desk with a strack of paper in his hands, "I trust you're the new volunteer?"

The blond boy nodded and stuck his hands in his pockets. "Yeah, that's me. Roxas Takashi."

The young man adjusted his frameless glasses and stood up; he leaned over the desk and extended his hand. "Well, it's nice to meet you Roxas - I'm Zexion Narato, one of Ansem's interns." After shaking hands he eyed the wary expression on his companion's face and smirked. "Let me guess - you were forced to volunteer here because you decided to procrastinate on your community hours?"

Roxas blinked rapidly in disbelief. "W-what - how did you-"

"I'm studying to become a psychologist," Zexion was still smirking as he circled the desk to stand by the boy's side, "Interpreting behaviour - more specifically a _sane_ person's behaviour - is a walk in the park." He subtly gestured towards a door to the left. "Right this way."

_These guys don't joke around, do they?_ "Where are we going?" The blond asked as Zexion opened the door for him; it revealed another stark white hallway, but at the end there was a dark chestnut door.

"Dr. Mafuyu - Ansem - would like to have a word with you," The young intern replied in that same bored tone he had been using for their entire conversation, "He likes to get acquainted with everyone who works for him, including volunteers." When they reached the door he raised a fist and knocked on it gently.

"Come in," A deep voice answered from the other side. Zexion gave the blond one last smirk before opening the door for him.

The office was small, but it was significantly larger than the guidance counselor's. The walls were covered with bookcases containing thick tomes on the behaviour of the human mind, and in the centre was a large desk. Dr. Mafuyu sat behind it with his hands folded neatly on the polished wooden surface and a kind smile on his face. He had long blond hair that was pushed back and a matching blond beard; his eyes were a strange, unnatural orange. Roxas noticed that the wall behind him was covered with various diplomas from prestigious universities around the world, and also many health science-related awards.

"Ah," Dr. Mafuyu gestured towards the comfy-looking leather chair in front of Roxas and the young blond immediately took a seat, "You must be our new volunteer-" He reached for one of the papers that was stacked neatly by the corner of his desk; he squinted at the typed font, "-Roxas Takashi, eighteen years of age and currently attending Sunset Terrace Public High School?"

The fact that he had that kind of information was a little unnerving. The blond nodded and shoved his hands in his pockets so he wouldn't end up fiddling with them. "Yeah, that's me. It's nice to meet you, Dr. Mafuyu."

The older man laughed heartily and shook his head as he flattened the paper on his desk. "There's no need for formalities here, Roxas - please, call me Ansem."

Roxas couldn't help but smirk; he liked this guy already. "Sure, Ansem. So...all I gotta do around here is just keep the patients company?"

"Simple enough, right?" Ansem smiled, "All you have to do is spend a couple of hours a day in your assigned room and talk to the patients. I'm pretty sure you'll be able to form some sort of a friendship with a few of them-" He reached for another piece of paper and scanned it quickly, "-it seems that most of the ones in your assigned room are your age."

The blond pulled his fingers through his hair. "Um...I guess that's good to hear."

Ansem chuckled as he gathered a few more papers in his arms. "It is - they need to interact with people in their age group." He stood up and nodded towards the door. "Shall we introduce you to your new patients?"

Roxas wasn't sure if he should feel excited or worried - right now he just wanted to run out of the building and drive straight back home. He bit his tongue, however, and stood up to follow the doctor out of his office. They zigzagged through a few more hallways (all these hallways were beginning to make the poor blond's head spin) and they finally stopped in front of a regular-looking door. Ansem pushed it open, revealing what looked like a lounge room. There was a television flickering in the corner, and some patients were sitting on the couches and staring blankly into the blinking screen. There were a couple of tables on the opposite side of the room, where a few other patients were drawing absentmindedly on sheets of paper with crayons and markers. They all wore the same outfit: a white shirt, white pants and white shoes. The doctor was right: all of them looked around Roxas' age.

"This is your assigned room," Ansem smiled kindly, "It's one of the many lounges we have here in the psych ward. You'll be reporting here every day - there's a phone there with my office number and Zexion's desk pre-programmed into it-" He pointed towards a cream phone nailed to the wall by the door, "And these-" He handed the young boy a name tag and the stack of papers in his arms, "-are little bits of information on the patients if you wish to know more about them. Keep in mind that some will respond to you and some won't, but even if they don't show much of a reaction it really does makes a difference."

Roxas clipped the name tag onto his shirt and shuffled through the papers; there were at least ten patient profiles. "Thanks." He glanced up from the documents to give the doctor a forced smile.

"Have a nice day, Roxas." Ansem closed the door softly behind him, leaving the blond alone with a small group of mentally unstable adolescents.

Roxas turned around slowly, ruffling the back of his hair with his free hand. He wearily eyed the seemingly lifeless patients staring dully into the television screen and figured he should start there.

A cartoon program was playing on the television, he noticed as he approached it. He sat down on the couch beside a girl who didn't even seem to notice he was there. Roxas hastily shuffled through his patient profiles and looked for her picture; he read the name at the top of the page: Kaori Hideyoshi.

"Er, hello Kaori," Roxas leaned forward a bit to peer into the girl's face, "How are you today?"

The girl continued to blink wordlessly at the television, staring at it through half-open brown eyes.

Roxas raised an eyebrow, but decided to press on. "So, uh, what are you watching?"

No answer.

He pursed his lips and pinched the bridge of his nose, trying his best to keep his temper in check. Why, _why_ did he have to procrastinate on his community hours?

Okay, okay, he couldn't give up now - he had at least _two and a half months_ left of this. If he blew up now he'd have to kiss his high school graduation goodbye.

Roxas glanced around his shoulder to see if there were any other patients that needed 'attention', but everyone seemed to be as lifeless as Kaori.

"What the fuck are you looking at, fresh meat?" A haughty female voice caught his attention and his head turned towards the source; a young woman who looked at least a couple years older than him was sitting sideways on a lounge chair with her legs dangling over the armrest. Her blonde hair was gleaming underneath the fluorescent lighting and her green eyes were staring straight into his confused blue ones. There was something about the way she was looking at him that made him want to run out of the room screaming bloody murder.

"Uh-"

She rose to her feet slowly, smacking her lips. "You're a cutie," She simpered as she approached him slowly; his eyes widened and he stumbled to his feet, backing up against the wall, "Ansem sure knows how to pick his volunteers."

"Be nice, Larxene." A male voice crooned out of nowhere; a tall boy who looked around the same age as the blonde girl stepped out from the side of the room. He had a fiery red mane and sharp green eyes with strange tattoo markings underneath. He smirked and sauntered towards where Roxas was. "Don't mind her - it's just the way she is."

"Did you see what he was trying to do earlier?" Larxene cackled loudly; no one else in the room seemed to notice except for Roxas and the redheaded boy, "He was trying to talk to Kaori - _Kaori!"_ She doubled over and laughed even harder. "It's _sooo _obvious he's new."

Her words were grating against Roxas' nerves and his hands curled into fists, creasing and crushing the patient profiles. He felt the redheaded boy's hand on his shoulder and he glanced up at him; the older boy was staring down at him with a somewhat kind demeanor. "Kaori's one of the non-reactive patients, so there's no point in trying to talk to her. She'll be fine on her own."

"Oh," Roxas' temper simmered down, "Uh, thanks for the advice."

"So you're Ansem's new volunteer, eh?" The redhead poked himself in the chest. "The name's Axel, and the crazy one over there is Larxene. Got it memorized?" He plopped down on the sofa next to Kaori, "We like to call your kind 'fresh meat'."

"Yeah," Larxene smirked as she rested her elbows on the backrest of the couch, "'Cause most of you have no idea what you're doing."

"You got that right," Roxas muttered as he moved to sit beside the redhead, "In all honesty I don't even want to be here."

"Old news," Larxene yawned and Axel chuckled, "Really-" She paused to squint at the blond's name tag, "-Roxas, what kind of idiot in their right mind would want to volunteer here?"

"I was forced to," The blond replied sheepishly as he tousled his hair, "This is what I get for putting off my community hours."

"Heh, you're not the first one who gave us the same excuse," The redhead laughed, "But I dunno, you seem..._different_ than all the other saps we've had before."

Roxas noticed that both the redhead and Larxene talked slowly, almost charmingly, like they were trying to woo him or something. It was kind of bothering him. "Hm, yeah, I can see where you're getting at, Axel," The blonde leaned in so close to Roxas' face they were almost touching noses, "He looks..._lively."_

"Not my first choice, but good enough," Axel shrugged and turned his head to face the nervous blond boy, "Look, kid, if you stick with us you'll be outta here in no time. The deadbeats 'round here, they're not very entertaining," He laughed quietly to himself, "But I'm pretty sure you can see that for yourself."

"Axel and I will show you how to make the best of your time here." Larxene smiled almost a little too sweetly, and Roxas felt uneasiness shifting around inside of him.

"Er, thanks," The blond forced on a smile, but it quickly dissolved when the older teens laughed almost malevolently in response.

The two hours passed by quicker than he thought, probably because he spent most of it asking Axel and Larxene a bunch of questions about the asylum. He found out that there were in fact five interns under Ansem's supervision: Zexion Narato, the grey-haired guy at the front desk; Xigbar Ishimaru, who could be found in the elderly wing; Xaldin Tokutomi and Vexen Yosano, who conducted research in the labratories and Lexaeus Fumihiko, who spent most of his time underground with the patients who needed special attention. Roxas also learned that there was an arts room just down the hallway, where the staff kept a few musical instruments locked up.

"You're a musician, huh?" Larxene grinned maliciously as Roxas made his way towards the door, "Now that's a first."

"We've never had a volunteer who would actually _do_ something," Axel crossed his hands behind his head, "Hm, maybe you'll prove to be of some use to us after all."

The blonde didn't like the sound of that, but he smiled anyway. "I guess I'll be seeing you guys tomorrow?"

"Same time, same place." Larxene gave him a wink, and he laughed nervously as he closed the door behind him.

Roxas left the building as quickly as he could without making it look like he really wanted to leave, and when he reached his car he scrambled inside and stabbed his key into the ignition. He didn't care if he was fifteen over the speed limit; he had a _lot_ to tell his brother and sister when he got home.

"You look a little antsy," Sora raised an eyebrow when his brother barreled into the house, "Did the crazy people get to you already?"

"Just a little bit," Roxas was shaking his head as he moved to sit in between his brother and sister on the couch, "Ugh, I _really_ should've just volunteered with you guys."

"So what did you end up doing for two hours?" Xion asked as she sipped from her glass of water.

"I talked to the only two people in the room who seemed to be capable of talking back," Roxas frowned as he rumpled his hair, "But even they were a little creepy."

"What were their names?" The brunet asked.

"Uh, there was a girl named Larxene - really crazy, by the looks of her-" The blond paused to smile as his siblings laughed, "-and the other person was a guy named Axel. He seemed a little more normal than Larxene, but I guess you can never be too certain."

"Well, as long as you're back in one piece, right?" Xion smirked, and her half-brother flushed, "At least you're not taking care of any serial killers or cannibals or anything."

"Oh, I think they keep those guys in the basement," Roxas scratched his head as his siblings gaped at him, "The doctor told me that they keep the patients who need 'special attention' down there."

"Yikes," The brunet frowned, "There's no chance they'll escape...or anything...right?"

The blond shrugged. "They never really said anything about that." He yawned and stretched his arms as he stood up. "Anyway, I'm bushed - wake me when dinner's ready."

Roxas trudged all the way to his room, and when he finally reached his bed he collapsed face-first on his pillows. After rolling around a few times he noticed he was still wearing his jacket, but when he shrugged out of it the patient profiles he had stowed in the inside pocket fell out and fluttered onto the carpeted floor.

An idea ran through the blond's head and he reached for the documents. He sifted through them until he found the ones he was looking for: Axel and Larxene.

_**Ekiguchi, Axel**_

_20 years of age; male  
_

_Resident of Twilight Psychiatric Facility for 3 years_

_Points of Interest: Verbally manipulative. Has shown mild signs of a sadistic personality, but not to the point where it is considered sociopathic. Takes delight in lighting random objects on fire as a means to relieve tension and for recreational reasons_

_Diagnosis: __Acute pyromania__: _take care not to hold any matches, lighters, any flammable items or items that may induce fire when dealing with patient.

_**Levesque, Larxene**_

_20 years of age; female  
_

_Resident of Twilight Psychiatric Facility for 3 years; transferred from Radiant Garden Correctional Facility, where patient was a resident for 2 years_

_Points of Interest: Highly manipulative personality; can easily influence other patients. Has a history of sexual promiscuity; has shown both masochistic and sadistic traits. Has also demonstrated some sociopathic behaviour_

_Diagnosis: Has shown definite signs of __Sadistic Personality Disorder__, but is also considered a potential candidate for __Psychopathic__ and __Sociopathic Personality Disorder_

"Huh," Roxas scoffed, "I thought they said they kept _all_ of the patients who need special attention underground." He flattened the papers against his desk and ruffled his hair. He had a feeling those two were...less normal than they appeared to be, but now that he read their profiles he wasn't sure what to think of them anymore.

_"Look, kid, if you stick with us you'll be outta here in no time." _Axel's words echoed in his head, and he frowned. Was he really telling the truth, or was he just luring him in?

All of this thinking made the blond's head hurt; he groaned and ruffled his hair as he crawled back into bed and pulled the sheets over his body. This was going to be a long two and a half months...


	3. Seeing Sounds

_A/N: I got the title for this chapter from the N*E*R*D album...but obviously none of the songs in it are relevant to the story, hahaha - I'm just not creative enough to think up of my own title. Great album though._

_--_

**Seeing Sounds.**

Roxas pulled his hood over his spiky blond hair as he ducked into his car after dropping his siblings off at home. It was perfectly sunny during noon, but then when school ended the town was hit with an onslaught of rain.

As if he needed any more signs.

The blond was grumbling to himself the entire drive to the psych ward, and he was still grumbling when he stepped out of the car, ran to the front doors and navigated through the confusing hallways to his designated lounge room. The moment he stepped inside he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Ah, I knew you'd turn up!" Axel grinned down at him, "See, Larxene, we didn't scare the living daylights out of him after all!"

"Huh," The blonde girl sauntered towards them from her spot on the sofa, "I thought we'd never see the likes of you again. You were shaking like a leaf yesterday."

Roxas felt an embarrassed blush rising on his face. "Er, really?"

"We guessed you haven't read our profiles yet," The pyromaniac jerked his head towards the pile of papers in Roxas' hands, "You should give them a read sometime - they're actually pretty interesting."

"I actually read yours when I got home last night," The blond admitted sheepishly, pointing to Axel's profile, "Er, I would've never guessed the things they said."

"Me neither," Larxene muttered sarcastically, "But hey, it's not everyday you're diagnosed as a psycho."

"It fits you perfectly." Axel smirked, and much to Roxas' surprise the blonde grinned from ear to ear.

"I guess I should've known you'd be coming back," Larxene's eyes drifted towards the ceiling and she crossed her hands behind her head, "It's not like you have much of a choice anyway."

"Don't remind me," Roxas muttered as he moved towards the couch to sit beside Kaori, who looked as lifeless as she did yesterday. He pulled out the patient profiles from the inside pocket of his jacket, "So are these things really accurate?"

"To some degree, yeah," The redhead moved to sit on the opposite side of Kaori, "Though I don't understand where they got the whole _verbally manipulative _thing from. I'm a nice guy if you give me a chance!"

"And about the promiscuity," Larxene leaned over Roxas' shoulder from behind the couch to point at her profile, "I don't get where they got that from either. Okay, so I did _two_ guys. How the hell is that promiscuous?"

"Are you forgetting about the last volunteer?" Axel sneered, "Or the one before that? What about-"

"Shut it, Firestarter."

The blond sighed and leaned back against the couch, his eyes drifting towards the ceiling. "What am I gonna do for two hours?"

Larxene shrugged her petite shoulders and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Beats me-" Her eyes wandered towards the door and her face lit up, "-hey, you said you were a musician, right?"

"Yeah...so?"

Axel seemed to catch onto what the blonde was saying, and he grinned deviously. "Why don't we sneak into the arts room so you can show us what you're capable of?"

A blush made its way towards Roxas' cheeks. "Er, I'm not as great as you think I am, really-"

Larxene cut him off by grabbing his wrist and pulling him off the couch; Axel snickered childishly and bounded alongside them. The redhead poked his spiky head out the doorway to check if the coast was clear, and when it was safe to go he tiptoed out into the hallway. Larxene, who was having a hard time suppressing her giggling, followed him and pulled poor Roxas with her.

"Wait," Axel held out an arm to stop the blondes; they both looked up at him in confusion as he cupped his hand over his ear, "D'you hear that?"

"Huh…" Roxas strained his hearing; someone was playing the piano, and they were playing it very well. It was coming from a room just down the hallway - the arts room, he presumed.

"Again?" Larxene chuckled, "I wonder how he does it."

"Who?" The youngest of the three asked curiously as they approached the room; the beautiful piano was louder and easier to hear at this point.

"Him." Axel slid the door to the arts room open, and Roxas tilted his head to the side in curiosity. The arts room was filled with all sorts of equipment: there were easels stacked along the side of the room, and the shelves were packed with different kinds of paints, crayons, pastels, markers and pencils. Musical instruments were kept on the opposite side of the room; there were at least three guitars, a xylophone, various percussion instruments and even a drum kit. In the centre of the room was an old upright piano, and a young man with sandy blond hair was sitting in front of it with his hands moving so quickly over the keys they appeared to be a blur. His eyes were distractedly wandering around the entire room as if he was watching something moving and a serene smile was stretched over his young features - he almost appeared to be hallucinating.

Seconds later his eyes stopped moving, and he turned to face his intruders. Roxas was a little uneasy at first, but when he noticed that the young man's kind smile was still there he relaxed. "Oh - hey Axel, hey Larxene." He pulled the top over the keys and rested his elbow over it. "What are you guys doing here?"

"Oh, nothing really," The pyromaniac shrugged; he clapped a hand on Roxas' shoulder and shook him a little bit, "Just showing our new babysitter where the art room is."

"We got a new volunteer?" The stranger's green eyes squinted over Roxas' name tag, "Hm, we haven't had one in awhile." He stood up and approached the youngest of the group, holding out his hand. "It's nice to meet you - my name's Demyx."

Roxas shook it and marveled at how supple his hands felt. "I'm Roxas." He glanced over at the old piano. "You're really good - I heard you from outside."

Demyx flushed and placed a hand behind his head. "Ah, there's really nothing else to do around here besides play," His expression suddenly darkened, "It's just that the stupid nurses around here won't let me play as much as I'd like so I have to sneak in every now and then."

"So unfair," Larxene muttered as she moved to lean against the piano, "And to think that they think they're _helping_ us get better." She scoffed and glanced at her nails. "Bullshit."

"That does sound a little unfair," Roxas agreed with a frown, "I mean, they should know by now that you love music, right? Why won't they let you play?"

"Ah, you know how these doctors are," Axel smirked, "Just 'cause they have a fancy piece of paper with a gold sticker on it they think they know everything about us. They conclude that everything you do contributes to your..._illness._ Sure, on the outside they make it seem like they're our best friends but in reality we're just their lab mice."

"Yeah," Larxene concurred, a malicious grin stretching across her fair lips; she began to approach Roxas slowly, taking baby steps, and the younger blond gulped and began to back up against the wall, "You've got shrinks in all shapes and sizes poring over you with their clipboards, medicine bottles and shiny needles, thinking that they've got your sickness pinpointed just where they want them," She laughed darkly and Roxas gulped again, "But they don't know shit. How the _fuck_ can you cure a disease of the mind when _your_ mind isn't the one that's diseased?"

"I-" The youngest blond stuttered; he could feel his heartbeat pumping erratically as Larxene's eyes frantically searched his face for an answer, "I don't know," He forced the third lump down his throat, "M-maybe it's safe to assume that it's just some kind of safety net, y'know? It's comforting to think that there's someone out there that knows how to...how to make your, erm, _sickness_ go away, even when you know it's practically impossible."

The only female in the group malignly licked her lips as she backed away from the trembling volunteer. "That's exactly the answer I was looking for."

"Where did you find him?" Demyx chuckled, "He's smarter than he looks."

"Dunno," Axel shrugged, "Ansem's the one who chucked him into our room." He playfully tugged on one of Roxas' cheeks, and the youngest blond jerked out of his grasp. "But he's definitely a keeper."

"I'm not a shiny new toy for you to play around with, y'know," Roxas grumbled as he rubbed his sore cheek; Larxene was cackling in amusement in the background, "I'm human like the rest of you."

"At least that's what you'd like to think." Axel smirked, and the youngest blond stared back in confusion. The redhead chuckled and gestured towards the various instruments lined up against the wall. "So what're you waiting for, maestro? Show us what you can do!"

Roxas rubbed the back of his head as he approached one of the guitars. "What if someone comes in?"

Demyx waved his hand dismissively. "No one really comes here, and since you're a volunteer you won't get yelled at." He returned to the piano and pushed the over off. "Let's see if we can duet!"

"Ooh, this is gonna be a toe-tapper, I can tell." Larxene simpered and pulled up a chair. Roxas could not help but blush as he pulled the guitar strap around his shoulders; he plucked the pick that was wedged in between the strings and strummed a chord - everything was perfectly in tune. Demyx struck the same exact chord on the piano, grinning at him. The younger blond grinned back and began to play a random song off the top of his head. Axel began to laugh and he bent over the pile of instruments; he picked up a tambourine and tossed another one over to Larxene, and the both of them began to jokingly play along.

Giddiness rushed inside of the youngest blond as his fingers flew skillfully over the fingerboard; he began to play more complicated notes and rhythms, and he smiled when Demyx easily followed along with the corresponding chords.

There was a thump heard outside the hallway, and the foursome immediately stopped their playing. "Fuck," Larxene spat, though at the same time she was giggling, "Someone's heard us."

Demyx quickly closed the piano and Roxas stashed the guitar away. They dashed out of the hall and back towards the lounge, laughing the entire way.

Axel collapsed on the couch, careful not to sit on top of Kaori, wiping his eyes and running his hands across his hair. "That was great," He laughed, "I've never felt so normal in my entire life."

"Here, here," Larxene smirked.

Demyx's eyes were drifting around the room again. He clapped a hand on Roxas' shoulder, though his head was tilted towards the ceiling. "That was great," He grinned as he finally looked downwards to face the younger blonde, "We definitely need to jam again sometime."

"You're in this room too?" Roxas asked as he reached for the profiles hidden in the inside pocket of his jacket, "Why didn't I see you yesterday?"

"Oh, I was in for my weekly checkup," The musician explained casually; his eyes began to wander around the room again, "We crazy people have to check in with a shrink every now and then to see if we're still here, if you catch my drift."

"Ah," Roxas nodded; he checked the time on his phone and nearly gasped, "Oh, it's time for me to go." He ruffled his hair and gave his newfound friends a wave. "I guess I'll see you guys tomorrow?"

"We'll be waiting." Larxene sang before he closed the door behind him.

Roxas shuffled through his patient profiles as he made his way out of the ward; the rain had stopped just in time for the sun to set. The sky was smeared with different shades of red, pink, orange, yellow and purple and he paused for a moment to admire the view. When he reached his car he finally found the profile he was looking for.

_**Nobusuke, Demyx**_

_20 years of age_

_Resident of Twilight Psychiatric Facility for 1.5 years_

_Points of Interest: An accomplished musician capable of playing virtually any instrument; mood varies depending on the time of the month but has never been any sort of a threat_

_Diagnosis: __Sound __→ Colour Synesthesia: __claims to 'see' music and sound in the form of colour, which explains the constant distracted expression. _

What an interesting condition; it didn't even sound like a disease. To Roxas it sounded more like a gift, maybe even a privilege.

The blond was surprised at how exhausted he was by the time he arrived home; he nearly collapsed on his way up the stairs, and when he finally reached his room he plopped face-down on his bed and was knocked out for a good few hours. When he woke up it was already dark out, and he cursed himself for skipping dinner with the family yet again; he trudged out of his room towards the kitchen, hoping Sora didn't devour everything off the table.

Luckily there were some leftovers in the fridge; he heated whatever was left of the dinner he missed in the microwave and ate it in silence. He reached into his jacket and pulled out the patient profiles again, reading them distractedly as he finished his food. When he was finished his eyes widened as the heaviness of fatigue washed over him again; maybe Sora was right when he said he was the laziest one in the family.

Roxas yawned as he dragged himself up to his room. He undressed languidly and crawled underneath the sheets, and when his tousled head hit the pillow he was out almost immediately.

--

_A/N: Volunteering can really take it out of you._


	4. Med Time

**Med Time.**

Working at the psych ward wasn't as bad as Roxas thought it was going to be; it had been nearly a week since he first came here and he was actually enjoying his time with his new friends. Granted, Larxene and Axel still kind of scared him but there was nothing he could do about that since it was just a part of their personalities, and Demyx was fun to be around with since they both shared a love for music. Roxas even asked him what it was like to be able to 'see' the things he could hear.

"So what does music _look_ like to you?" The younger blond asked curiously, leaning over Kaori so he could listen to his friend properly.

"It depends on what kind of music I'm hearing, really," Demyx answered honestly, "Every type of sound that I hear is attributed to a certain colour. For example - when I hear or play happy music I see orange. It's like a stream of ribbon moving around in the air, the kind that those dancers wave around on stage or something. If I hear angry music or angry noises like someone yelling I see jagged lines, like the kinds you'd see on those heart monitor things except that they're red instead of green."

"Why the hell didn't you tell Axel or I any of this?" Larxene demanded, and the blond flinched.

"Well, you never asked."

"Whatever." The only female rolled her green eyes and returned to scribbling shapelessly on her piece of paper with a red crayon.

There was a click of the door opening, and a nurse walked in. "Roxas Takashi?" She was holding a tray of tiny paper cups, the kinds that hold the ketchup at fast food restaurants.

"Ooh, it's med time." The youngest blond heard Axel chuckle as he rose from his seat.

Roxas approached the nurse and raised an eyebrow when she handed him the tray. "It's your responsibility to hand your patients their medication," She explained curtly, "I'll be coming here with this same tray every three days, and you'll be distributing them according to the labels on these cups." She gestured over to her arm, where a plastic bag full of water bottles was hanging. "Make sure they drink so that the pills go all the way down, and when they're finished tell them to open their mouths so you know they actually swallowed them."

"Uh, alright. Thanks." He spun around and returned to his friends, who were chuckling at him. "Er, d'you mind helping the fresh meat out?"

"No problemo," Larxene swiped at a random cup; Roxas squinted at the name scrawled on it and sighed in relief when he read her name, "This is mine." She plucked out a few tiny capsules and popped it into her mouth. She grabbed one of the water bottles from the plastic bag and downed half of it in one gulp, smacking her lips when she was finished. "This prevents me from breaking out into a gruesome yet very creative killing spree." She smiled sweetly, and he gulped. "Oh yeah." She opened her mouth and raised her tongue; the pills were gone.

"My turn, my turn!" Axel laughed and reached for his own cup, downing the pills and the other half of Larxene's water bottle. When he showed Roxas that he really did swallow his medication he turned towards the musician. "Your turn, Dem."

He didn't look as enthused. "I hate taking these."

Roxas' brow furrowed. "Why?"

"Well," Demyx frowned, resting his elbow on the sofa's armrest and leaning into his palm, "I actually _like_ seeing things. I get to see the world from a different, maybe even _better_ perspective than everyone else. It's not everyday people get to _see_ sounds, y'know?" He then added in a smaller voice, "And it's not like I'm doing anything to hurt anyone."

"Aw," Larxene threw an arm around the musician's shoulders and pressed her cheek against his, "You think you're not as sick as everyone else. How admirable." She laughed when he glared at her and pushed her away. "Just thinking out loud, Demi."

"Look," Roxas picked up Demyx's cup and stashed the pills away in his pocket, much to his friends' surprise, "I'm not gonna make you take it if you don't want to."

"Wait, what?" Demyx gaped at him; Larxene and Axel's expressions were not very different.

The youngest blond shrugged as he proceeded to force Kaori into taking her own medication. "You've made a good point. I mean, you're not hurting anybody with the things you see; in fact you're fascinating people - me for example. What's the point in trying to cure yourself when you're fine with the way you are?"

Axel chuckled and ruffled the blond's hair. "I knew I'd like you."

Ten minutes later Roxas had managed to give all of the patients their medication; none of them proved to be any sort of hassle since they were all quite lifeless to begin with, so all he had to do was just pop the little pills into their mouths and pour some water in.

"Huh, that wasn't so bad." He shrugged as he stared down at his tray; an eyebrow quirked upwards when he realized that there was one cup left. "Wait, did I miss someone?"

"Hm," Larxene picked up the tiny cup and squinted at the name scrawled on its side; her face fell and her eyes dulled, "Oh - I almost forgot about her."

Axel snatched it from her hands and Demyx leaned over his shoulder to read the name. "I never knew she was in our room."

"That's because she's never sane enough to be kept with the rest of us." The pyromaniac smirked, and Demyx 'ah-ed' in understanding.

"But wait - if she's not around why does Roxas have her meds?"

The youngest blond set the tray on the table and grabbed the cup back; he noticed that there were a lot of pills inside, way more than the others. This wasn't a good sign. "Who are you guys talking about?" He asked slowly, warily; did he have a deranged serial killer assigned to his lounge?

Right on cue the door swung open and two nurses walked in holding a girl by the arms like they were guiding her. Roxas' head tilted to the side; the girl was very small and thin, and unlike the other patients she was wearing a white dress with a skirt that ended just above her knees. She also wasn't wearing any shoes.

Huh, she doesn't _look_ like a deranged serial killer - but then again in most horror movies the innocent-looking girl was always the culprit...

"Her," Axel jerked his thumb over to the girl; the nurses were gently easing her into a seat by the farthest table, "She's what we call a _special case."_

"Special case…?" Roxas murmured as his eyes narrowed over the strange girl; her flaxen hair was flipped over her right shoulder and her wispy bangs fell over her large, half-open blue eyes. Her skin was sickly pale, like she had never been under the sun in her entire life. Her petite face was void of all emotion as the nurses stuck a crayon in her hand and pushed a blank piece of paper in front of her. Roxas glanced at the cup and read the name written on it. "Nami...né?"

"Maybe you have her profile." Demyx suggested, pointing towards the boy's jacket.

"Why can't you guys just tell me what's wrong with her?"

"We're crazy, remember? You can't believe _everything_ we say." Larxene simpered, and the other two laughed alongside her. Roxas rolled his eyes and pulled out his profiles, shuffling through them for a few minutes and frowning when he couldn't find what he was looking for.

"Weird - I don't have it," He gestured to the cup in his hand, "But I _do_ have her pills."

"Hm, maybe you can talk to Ansem about it afterward," Axel lightly pushed the younger boy forward, "Now go and do your job, Mister Volunteer."

"Er, will she talk back to me?" Roxas eyed the blonde girl skeptically; she was staring into space with her crayon in her hand, but the page in front of her was still blank.

"See for yourself." He heard the smirk in Larxene's voice, and he sighed. He slowly stepped towards the girl, his heartbeat thudding spasmodically in his ears with every closer step. When he was close enough he pulled out the chair next to her and sat down.

"Erm, hello," Roxas greeted timidly; he inwardly cursed himself when Naminé continued to stare idly into space, "I don't think I've ever seen you before. I'm Roxas, the new volunteer." He could hear Larxene, Demyx and Axel snickering in the near distance and he suppressed the urge to turn around and give them a rude hand gesture. "I'm here to give you your medication, by the way." He pushed the small paper cup towards her hand and pulled out a water bottle from the plastic bag.

"You're gonna have to force it in, Roxas," Larxene approached him and leaned against the table with her arms crossed over her chest, "The little witch never really talks to anybody," She spun around, leaned in and traced the younger girl's jawline with an index finger, and though she was so close Naminé continued to stare straight ahead as if nothing was going on, "Don't you, little witch? No one here's good enough for you, right?" The older blonde leaned back and smirked. "Thought so."

Roxas didn't like the way Larxene was acting around the strange young girl but he chose not to say anything about it since Axel and Demyx didn't. He pursed his lips as he raised the cup and brought it towards Naminé's mouth. "Naminé," He called as he slowly reached for her chin, "You have to take-"

He stopped when he felt a cold hand on his wrist. Naminé was staring back at him with the same half-open-eyed, expressionless stare. "I can do it," Her voice was very quiet and somewhat indignant as she gently pried the cup away from his grasp. Even Larxene was surprised when the small girl popped the pills into her mouth and drank her water. She pushed the cup back and gave Roxas the tiniest of smiles.

A strange tingling made itself present in the pit of his stomach when he saw her smile, and a hot blush crept onto his face. "Oh, well that's good," He chuckled nervously, "Less work for me."

"You're kidding me," Larxene laughed sinisterly, throwing up her hands, "What makes him so special? When the fuck was the last time I heard you talk? Two months ago?"

"Larxene," Axel had approached them and placed a hand on the blonde's shoulder, but she shrugged him off, "Cut it out, will you?"

"Shut up and let me finish." The sadist moved forward to grab Naminé's chin with her thumb and forefinger; the younger blonde's eyes widened in fear and she tried to wriggle away from her grasp, but the older girl was much too strong. Roxas, Demyx and Axel even tried to help but Larxene only kicked them away. "Just 'cause you're the most fucked in the head around here doesn't mean you get all the special attention," She sneered and the younger girl cowered childishly, "They shoulda just left you where they found you."

"That's enough, Larxene." Axel finally pulled her away from the poor, trembling girl, shaking his head. "God, why can't you hold your fucking tongue?"

"Don't touch me." The blonde glowered before stomping out of the room. Axel gave Roxas an apologetic look before dashing out to follow her.

Naminé had drastically changed moods: she went from stony and emotionless to cowardly and defenseless. She grabbed Roxas' arm and buried her face in it, whimpering like a terrified animal. Roxas frowned and awkwardly wound his arms around her middle, trying his best to comfort her. "Er, don't listen to her," He frowned as he wracked his brains for something to say, "She doesn't mean it, really - it's just the way she is." He turned towards Demyx. "What the hell was that all about, and why did she keep calling Naminé a witch?"

The musician frowned at the sobbing girl, rubbing the back of his head. "Larxene has a fondness for tormenting other people - people that are incapable of fighting back, more specifically. I think she's secretly envious of the patients who get more attention from the staff so she picks on them to make them feel small: she calls them names, puts them down, y'know - typical bully stuff, just ten times worse since she's sadistic and all." He sighed and sat down on the chair next to Roxas. "Naminé's very sensitive to the things people say, even when she doesn't show much of a reaction. It's hard when Larxene's around 'cause she always bullies her; Axel always tries to fend her off but it's really hard to fight against someone like Larxene - even I'm scared of her sometimes."

Roxas gave his friend a sad smile. "I can't blame you - when I saw her for the first time I thought she was gonna murder me right then and there." He noticed that Naminé's crying had ceased somewhat, and he glanced downwards. "Are you feeling better, Naminé?"

She hesitantly pulled away from him, sniffling and rubbing her eyes with her knuckles. She nodded and swiveled around in her chair, returning to her crayon and piece of paper like nothing happened. Roxas raised a blond eyebrow, and when he heard Demyx chuckle he turned around in his seat to face him. "Is it normal of her to do that?"

"Sort of, yeah - except for the whole hugging part. She doesn't really like being touched, so when she grabbed you like that it was kinda surprising." The musician shrugged and gave the blond a smile. "I think she trusts you, Roxas."

"Really?" He ruffled his hair as another blush reddened his cheeks, "But I've only met her today."

"Well, it's gotta be something," Demyx shrugged again, "She's never done that to any volunteer or doctor before - not even Ansem can get her to speak when he wants her to, and you got her to say a full sentence!"

"But I never asked her to talk," Roxas frowned, "She spoke on her own." He eyed the clock on the wall and noticed that his time was nearly up. "Ugh, I better get going - I don't want to miss dinner again."

"Alright," Demyx scratched the side of his head, "I'll see you tomorrow, Roxas."

"Bye." He shoved his hands in his pockets and began to make his way out of the room, but then a soft, nearly inaudible voice stopped him in his tracks.

"Bye, Roxas." He whirled around and gaped at the small blonde girl waving in his direction, and he flushed and waved back wordlessly. He heard Demyx chuckle before closing the door behind him.

"Hey, Zexion?" Roxas addressed the young intern when he approached the front desk five minutes later; when the grey-haired boy looked upwards he continued, "Do you think I can have a quick word with Ansem for a few minutes? I have something to ask him."

"I'm afraid you can't at the moment," The intern frowned, "He's busy with some research, but I think you can come in tomorrow when you're finished your volunteering for the day."

Roxas felt a little disappointed that he couldn't find out more about this Naminé girl _now,_ but at least he had the opportunity tomorrow. "Alright, that's fine then. I'll see you tomorrow, Zexion."

"I'll tell Ansem to expect you. Have a good day."

Naminé plagued the blond boy's thoughts the entire drive home; for some reason he really wanted to know more about her and what her condition was. He had a feeling Demyx and the others knew, but why weren't they telling him anything?

"Oh, you're home," His mother greeted him warmly when he arrived home, "Dinner's waiting for you so you head into the kitchen. Wash your hands first."

"Where're Sora and Xion?" The blond asked as he turned the tap on and reached for the soap.

His mother paused for a minute, as if she had to remember where her other two children were. "Upstairs - unlike your food they couldn't wait for you."

Roxas chuckled as he dried his hands off with the dishtowel. "Of course." He moved to sit at the table and his mother sat across from him, and they ate in silence for a few minutes.

"So how's the volunteering coming along?" His mother asked suddenly.

"Oh-" The blond smiled to himself as he reached for his glass of water, "-it's actually not that bad. The patients that I'm working with are, er, interesting."

"I hope you mean that in a good way." She chuckled, and her son chuckled alongside her.

"I do - they're nice to talk to and everything," He shrugged, "And they really help the time pass faster." After taking the last bite of his dinner he stretched his arms and clamped a hand over his mouth to stifle a yawn. "Man, for some reason I'm always exhausted after volunteering."

"Really? I hear you move around a lot at night." His mother commented suspiciously, and he raised an eyebrow at her words.

"Huh, odd. Maybe I just move around a lot when I sleep." He rose from his chair and placed his dishes in the sink. "Anyway, I'm gonna take a short nap before doing my homework. Later, Mom." He dashed up the stairs and sighed in relief when he finally arrived in his room. He collapsed on his bed like he always did, but the second he came in contact with the mattress he heard a dull thud and a slight cracking noise. Raising an eyebrow, Roxas turned around to see what had fallen down, and he groaned when he eyed the broken picture frame on the floor.

It was an old picture of him, his brother and half-sister enjoying a day at the beach. They were around ten years old at the time; Roxas was giving his brother bunny ears while the brunet was grinning like nothing was going on, and Xion had her two fingers up in the victory sign. The blond had no idea why he had this picture when he most likely had tons of other, more recent ones lying around somewhere; he shrugged and pulled the photo out of the cracked picture frame and placed it on his desk before cleaning up.

Yawning again, he sat on the edge of his bed and rumpled his hair; sleepiness was pressing down on his eyelids and he felt like he was going to pass out any minute. This was odd; he never felt this tired ever since a few years ago when his mother forced him and his siblings to go to some weird summer camp. Shrugging it off, Roxas stripped down to his boxers and pulled the sheets up to his shoulders before blacking out for the night.


	5. Special Case

_A/N: You don't know how many Radiohead songs I've been listening to whenever I write a chapter for this story. It's insane - no pun intended._

_--_

**Special Case.**

Roxas yawned for the umpteenth time as he drove towards the psych ward; he was so tired he was afraid he was going to fall asleep in the middle of the freeway.

He was pretty sure he slept the entire night, but when he woke up in the morning he felt as if he didn't get any sleep at all. He wondered if Ansem could answer a few of his questions when he sees him later on.

"You look rather perky today," Axel commented dryly when Roxas stepped into the lounge looking a little worse-for-wear, "I reckon you didn't sleep much?"

"Not really," The blond yawned as he moved to sit on the couch beside the ever-so motionless Kaori, "Actually, I'm not even sure."

"What do you mean?" Demyx asked curiously, leaning over Kaori to listen properly.

"Well, I remember falling asleep but when I woke up the next morning I still felt tired," Roxas ruffled his hair in confusion, "I really don't get it." He glanced around the room and noticed that the sadist was nowhere to be found. "Hey, where's Larxene?"

"She's due for her checkup, so you won't be seeing her today," Axel informed him with a smirk, "I thought you'd be relieved. Naminé sure is."

"Naminé?" Roxas whirled around and spotted the familiar white-blonde girl sitting at the far table in the exact same position she was in the day before: she was emotionlessly staring straight ahead with the same crayon in her fist, hovering over the blank piece of paper. Her stark white dress was almost blinding as the sun peeking in through the window dappled across the thin fabric. Again she was totally barefoot.

"Intrigued now, are we?" He heard Axel snicker from behind, and he could not help but blush.

"I didn't get to ask Ansem about her yesterday, but Zexion set me up for an appointment after I'm finished with my hours today." Roxas explained sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his head.

"Hey, that means you can let us in on the info!" Demyx added eagerly.

"I thought you guys knew about her."

"Not in that way," Axel shrugged, "The only thing we know for sure is that they found her wandering the streets a few years ago."

"Wow, really?"

"Yeah," Demyx frowned, "Really weird, if you ask me."

"For some reason Ansem and the other shrinks have been pretty tight-lipped when it comes to little Naminé." The redhead's eyes shifted over to her and he frowned. "She looks lonely - why don't you go talk to her? Dem told me she actually shows emotion around you."

Roxas raised an eyebrow. "How are you so sure she's lonely? She looks like a stone statue!"

The pyromaniac laughed and jokingly pushed the blond off the sofa. "Trust me, kid, I know. Go talk to her - I'm pretty sure she wants you to."

The boy groaned, but he began to make his way towards her anyway. "Fine, fine." He could feel his pulse quickening for some reason as he pulled up a chair to sit beside her. "Hey Naminé," He greeted kindly; when she lacked a response his eyes dulled and he turned around to face Axel but when he spotted the redhead waving his hands, gesturing him to continue, he groaned. "Uh, how are you?"

Again, no response. Roxas exhaled sharply and slapped a hand to his forehead, feeling like the world's biggest idiot. He wondered why he even bothered listening to Axel in the first place, but at the same time he felt like he should keep trying. He breathed in deep and attempted to speak to her once more. "Hm, it looks like you haven't drawn anything yet," He frowned down at the blank piece of paper, "Why don't I start you off?"

He hesitantly reached for the crayon in her hand, and he sighed in relief when he managed to pull it out without her responding. He tapped the end of the crayon against his chin as he briefly contemplated on what to draw, and when an idea came to mind he 'ah-ed' and pressed the waxy tip to the paper. In mere seconds he leaned backwards to stare at his work; a purple-coloured butterfly was floating in the middle of the page. Granted, a second-grader would've drawn a better butterfly but it was probably the best piece of art he had ever made.

He grinned when he spotted Naminé's half-open, seemingly disinterested eyes move slowly from the wall towards the piece of paper in between them, and his grin broadened when she slumped over it to examine the drawing. She reached for the crayon in his hand and began to touch up on his artwork; he watched her intently as she drew some grass, a tree, a few clouds and a large purple sun. Her drawing style wasn't very different than his: the lines were crooked, out of proportion and childish-looking but they still looked better than his misshapen butterfly.

"There," Roxas smiled at her, "See, you just needed someone to give you a head-start."

She gave him a tiny smile, and his stomach flip-flopped a couple times. "Thank you," She nearly whispered, "You're a very nice person to come and talk to me."

The blond blushed and tousled his hair. "Aw, well I didn't want to leave you all by yourself - you looked kinda lonely just sitting here." He flipped the piece of paper over and gestured towards it. "I like the way you draw - why don't you make me another picture?"

Her smile widened a little; it would've been unnoticeable if he wasn't paying close attention to her. She immediately got to work, skimming over the page with the purple crayon. Roxas glanced over her shoulder to watch her, careful to keep his distance just in case she felt uncomfortable. He could smell the shampoo in her hair and the odd, sterile scent of the hospital lingering on her dress but for some reason he liked it.

"All done." Naminé sang in that wonderfully soft voice of hers; she gestured towards the piece of paper and Roxas saw with amusement that she had drawn him: he could make out the uncontrollable mess that was his hair, the patterns on his shirt and the hole in his jeans. Again it was something a child would draw, but coming from her meant that it was a masterpiece.

"Heh, it looks better than the real thing." He chuckled, and he smiled when she stifled a small giggle behind a pale hand. He could feel Axel and Demyx's eyes on his back and he felt pride swelling up inside of him; he's getting the seemingly mute girl to talk, and not even the head psychiatrist of the ward can do such a thing!

"You're different than everyone else around here," Naminé stated shyly, "You're...you're nicer than them."

Roxas' head cocked to the side. "Them?"

"The staff," She replied; her voice was nothing louder than a whisper, "They don't treat me as nicely as you do. They don't stay with me to watch me draw, and they don't even try to talk to me." Her eyes lowered to her crude drawing and his heart sank at the crestfallen expression she was wearing. "They say I don't talk much - it's only because no one's ever tried to talk to me before."

"Well, you don't have to worry about them," Roxas shrugged, "They don't know you. If you ever need anyone to talk to I'll be around-" He gestured towards the two young adults sitting by the sofa, "-and Axel and Demyx are around too. You talk to them, right?"

"Sometimes," The flaxen-haired girl admitted, "Only when...only when _she's_ not around." Naminé bit her bottom lip and grabbed the hem of her dress with a grip so tight her ashen knuckles whitened even more. "She's so mean to me..." She sniffled and swiped at her eyes.

He felt his heart drop to his stomach. "Hey, remember what I told you yesterday? It's just the way she is - it's her sickness that's talking." He tried to smile for her, but for some reason he was unable to. "As long as I'm around she won't bother you. I promise."

She glanced up at him and sniffled again; she wiped her tears away and nodded diligently. "Okay." She smiled, and he finally managed to smiled back.

"Hey," Axel approached them with Demyx in tow, "You can't have _all_ the fun - we want to talk to Naminé too!"

"Yeah, Roxas," Demyx grinned, and the blond blushed and rumpled his hair, "Quit hogging her, will ya - we had her first."

The pyromaniac sat beside the smallest blonde and gave her a heartwarming smile, like how a brother would give to his younger sister. "How are you doing?" His tone was kind and patient - a tone Roxas wouldn't imagine someone like Axel to use, "Feeling better? I haven't seen you in awhile."

Naminé gave him a small smile and absently tugged on a strand of hair near the back of her head. "I'm okay," She replied delicately, "Better than last week."

"That's good to hear," Demyx breathed a sigh of relief, "We were worried about you."

Roxas wanted to ask what they were talking about, but he figured that it would be better to inquire about it when Naminé wasn't around. He spent the rest of his two hours with the three patients; he laughed at Axel's jokes and marveled at Naminé's drawings. Demyx sang the smallest blonde a song - a song she claimed to be her favourite - and Roxas awed at the dreamy, almost intoxicated expression the young girl wore when she listened to the musician sing. She was something to look at, that's for sure, but at the same time it was odd to think such a thing because, well, she wasn't exactly _normal._

Wait, just because she's mentally unstable doesn't mean it's not normal to think she's pretty. The brain doesn't have to do anything with the way a person looks on the outside!

"Hey, fresh meat," Axel nudged his elbow, tearing the blond away from his thoughts, "Time's up."

"Oh - right," He abruptly stood up from his chair and dusted off his jeans, "I'll see you guys tomorrow."

"Bye, Roxas." Naminé smiled and waved, just like yesterday, and he smiled and waved back before leaving the room. He twisted and turned his way through the hallways and staircases towards Zexion's front desk, astonished when he realized that he actually remembered his way around.

"He's waiting for you," The smoky-haired boy didn't even bother to look up from his paperwork, "So just walk right in."

"Thanks." He made his way down the hallway to the dark-wooded door at the end, and he inhaled slowly before rapping against it with his knuckles.

"Come in," Said Ansem's deep voice, and Roxas turned the doorknob and walked inside. The office looked the same as usual, and Ansem was sitting behind his desk just like last time, "Hello, Roxas. What did you need to see me for?"

"Er, I just have a few quick things to ask you," The blond answered as he took a seat, "First of all: how come I don't have Naminé's patient profile?"

The man's eyes widened momentarily, and then he relaxed a few seconds afterward. "Oh, I almost forgot you had Naminé in your assigned room-" He reached for a stack of paper near the corner of his desk and rifled through it for a bit; he handed Roxas a single sheet, "-she was incapacitated for the last week and I had to take her out of the lounge to keep a closer eye on her."

"Er," Roxas hesitated, unsure of how to word this properly, "A couple of patients told me that you kind of just found her wandering the streets a few years ago."

"It's true," The man frowned, "She was just walking around the streets of Twilight Town in the middle of the night, covered head to toe in grime and wearing that same white dress you saw her in not so long ago - she refuses to wear anything else, and she doesn't like to wear shoes either." Ansem scratched his beard as his eyes swam with memories. "The police found her first, actually, but when they couldn't get any information out of her they sent her over to us. It took us nearly a month to get her to say her name - she doesn't seem to remember how she ended up on the streets, or anything in particular; either that or she's just not telling us anything."

"What exactly is her condition?"

Ansem neatly folded his hands on top of the desk. "I think it's best you read her profile, Roxas, and then you can ask me afterward."

The blond boy quickly scanned through the sheet of paper in his hands:

_**(Surname Unknown) Naminé **_

_Approximately 17-18 years of age; female_

_Resident of Twilight Town Psychiatric Facility for 3 years_

_Points of Interest: Highly unresponsive, apathetic and unmotivated. Shows mild cases of insomnia as patient is unable to sleep through the entire night, and is prone to nightmares; volunteers and employees on night shift are to distribute the proper medication when this occurs. Slight possibility that patient is suffering from amnesia. Patient is known to shift into a manic-depressive state; volunteers and employees must take caution as patient is prone to self-harm._

_Diagnosis: _Acute Schizophrenia: _Handle with extreme patience and vigilance; speak slowly and kindly and make sure not to have any sort of _sharp or pointed object_ on your person._

"Schizophrenia?" Roxas glanced upwards from the document with his brow scrunched in confusion.

"It means she has trouble distinguishing the difference between reality and figment of imagination," Ansem replied in a business-like tone, "She's known to have episodes where she sees, hears and even feels things that aren't really there, and when she's not having an episode she's usually very stoic and unresponsive. People with her condition are nearly completely incapable of functioning properly in society without some form of very heavy medication," He shook his head pitifully, "A young girl like her is so undeserving of such a fate."

Roxas mussed up his hair. "But when I talked to her yesterday she responded, and I even made her laugh today...sort of."

Ansem's eyes widened in shock. "Have you really?" He leaned forward a little bit, intrigued, "What did you do?"

The boy shrugged his shoulders. "Nothing, really - I just sat beside her and helped her draw, and then I started talking to her. She talked back and we had a normal conversation."

The blond man chuckled and nodded. "That's quite a feat, if I do say so myself. I can't even get her to say a single word when I'm examining her." He absently straightened his tie before continuing. "Roxas, I want you to keep an eye on Naminé. Spend as much time with her as you possibly can - talk to her, draw pictures with her, anything, really. I will be asking you to come here once every week to give me an update on her progress."

Roxas shrugged. "Sounds easy to me."

Ansem's answering smile was grateful. "Glad to know you're willing to participate." He folded his hands over his desk again. "Now, was there something else you wished to ask me?"

"Oh, right-" The blond rumpled his hair, "-uh, lately when I wake up in the morning I feel like I haven't really slept at all, though I plainly remember falling asleep the night before." He scratched his head in confusion. "Is that normal?"

Ansem chuckled and nodded. "Maybe you're just anxious with all the stress and pressure of completing your community hours, and plus it's your last year of high school, isn't it? It's always hectic in your graduating year - I know mine was. Just take some time to relax yourself before you sleep; drink some warm milk or tea for your nerves. You probably shift around a lot in your sleep, or maybe you even sleepwalk."

"Sleepwalk?" The image of him walking around the house in a zombie-like state was frightening and amusing at the same time - Sora would get a kick out of that, that's for sure. "Er, how would I know for sure?"

"Do you have siblings?" Roxas nodded. "Maybe you can ask them if they've heard anything during the night."

"My mom said she's heard me moving around a lot in my room." The blond frowned as his hand reached for his hair.

"That's a good place to start - ask your mother what she's hearing exactly, and then come back to me when you've got your answers." Ansem gestured towards the door. "I'll be expecting a full report next week, Roxas."

The blond smirked and gave him a mocking salute. "Will do."

--

_A/N: Whatever song Naminé asked Demyx to sing to her is up to your interpretation; for me the only thing singing in my head right now is Radiohead's _Idioteque (now you all know where I got my username from),_ and I'm pretty sure that's a song Naminé wouldn't listen to._


	6. Scrub It Off

**Scrub It Off.**

In his lifetime Roxas never really expected to consider a group of mentally unstable patients as his friends. In the three weeks that he had spent at the psych ward so far he had grown closer with all of them, Naminé in particular. The small blonde was intriguing to him, and she seemed to be fond of his company. She would draw pictures for him every day; the walls of his room at home were mottled with them, and whenever Larxene decided to be her ruthless, sadistic self he would always stand up for her - with the help of Axel and Demyx, of course.

Ansem was so pleased with Naminé's progress that he even informed the other two heads, Xehanort and Xemnas, of Roxas and his remarkable relationship with the young girl. Now, whenever Roxas had to come in for his weekly report all three doctors would be present.

"She's opening up more," The blond beamed as the three doctors busily scribbled on their clipboards, "She seems to be showing more emotion, even when Larxene's around. She likes Axel's jokes, and she's always asking Demyx to sing that same song over and over again."

"She really likes that song, doesn't she?" Xehanort smirked, "She's been asking him to sing it to her ever since they first met."

"It might be of some importance," His nearly identical brother, Xemnas, suggested, "Maybe it's some sort of connection to something in her past."

"Do you know anything of her past at all?" Roxas asked curiously; he frowned when all three doctors shook their heads.

"Absolutely nothing," Ansem frowned, "Like I told you she won't tell us anything."

"Or maybe she's forgotten," Xemnas insinuated, "Remember how traumatized she was on the day we found her? She could be suppressing a few things."

"That's one of our theories," Ansem replied, "But we're not certain yet." He looked over towards the youngest in the group and gestured towards the door. "You're free to go, Roxas - you're doing a splendid job so far."

"Thanks." He smiled before leaving the office, but the moment he turned his back on the three doctors his expression darkened. He was frowning the entire way to his car, and on the drive home all he could think about was the conversation the three doctors were having amongst themselves; for some reason he felt like there was something they weren't telling him. Did they really _not_ know anything about Naminé besides her name?

He sighed as he opened the door to the house; he made a beeline for the kitchen, where he grabbed a glass of water and chugged it down with ease.

"Oh," Sora suddenly appeared by the doorway, "You're home."

"Yeah," Roxas shrugged as he refilled his glass, "Where's Mom?"

"Out - it's Wednesday, remember? She's got game night with the neighbours or whatever." The brunet chuckled and ruffled his spiky hair. "I hope I'm not that lame when I'm older."

When Roxas turned around he found both Xion and Sora sitting by the table - how the heck did his sister get down here without him even noticing? He _really_ needed to learn how to sleep properly. "Heya brother," The raven-haired girl waved, "How's working with the crazies?"

"Not bad, not bad," The blond shrugged as he moved to sit in between his siblings, "Not much is happening."

"What about that Naminé girl?" Sora gave his brother a suggestive look, "How's she coming along?"

"Yeah," Xion giggled, "Did you ask her out yet, or is she too busy talking to her imaginary friends?"

"She doesn't have imaginary friends," Roxas retorted as he sipped from his glass, "And why the hell would I ask her out? I wouldn't be able to take her anywhere."

"You said she was the most unstable out of all your patients, right?" Sora asked, and he continued when the blond nodded, "So, like, does she get electric shock treatment and stuff? Did they remove a part of her brain?"

Roxas' face was beginning to redden from the temper he'd been trying to suppress. "Shut up, Sora-" He shoved his brother off his chair, "-she's not like that."

"Sorry, sorry," Sora muttered as he scrambled back onto his seat, "I was just curious, that's all."

"Lobotomies aren't even practiced anymore, Sora," Xion was rolling her eyes, "But I can't say much about the shock treatment."

"She doesn't get shock treatment!" Roxas slammed his glass on the table, startling his brother and sister; he blinked for a few minutes and slowly sat back down. "Sorry."

"Someone's defensive," Sora was acting up again, and the blond's eye began to twitch, "Does someone have a likkle cwush?"

"Sora…"

"Stop teasing him," Xion lectured, though at the same time she was grinning, "Can't you see he's embarrassed? He's all red."

"Alright, I'm heading upstairs." Roxas placed his glass in the sink before angrily making his way out of the kitchen. His temper flared up again when he heard his brother and sister snickering, and he gritted his teeth together as he stomped up the stairs and into his room. He slammed the door so hard the various drawings Naminé made for him trembled a little from the impact. He forced himself to sit on the edge of his bed, and he sighed and pulled his fingers through his hair.

Their words shouldn't get to him like that; they didn't know anything about her.

_But what makes you think _you_ do?_

Great, now his conscience was against him.

Roxas groaned and reached for his bag, figuring that a bit of homework would be a good enough distraction from himself. When he pulled out his textbooks the drawing Naminé made for him today managed to wedge itself into one of the books' pages; he smiled when he flattened it against the desk, remembering what she told him earlier:

_"When I was little I always used to think of myself as a princess," _She explained when she finished her drawing; it was of a castle and a girl standing at the top with a crown, and at the bottom there was a boy with a crown and a head of messy, spiky hair on top of a horse holding a sword above his head, _"And that one day I'll have a sweet, handsome prince who'll sweep me off my feet and take me to a better place - a place where I'll be loved and appreciated."_

Her words were admirable and sad at the same time; he grabbed some tape and scoured his walls for an available space, and when he found one just above the headboard of his bed he stuck tape to the four corners of the drawing and pressed it there. He stepped back, admiring his work, and smiled to himself as he spun around to begin his homework.

After an hour of attempting a few math problems fatigue seeped into his system and he was nodding off; rubbing his eyes he stumbled out of his seat and made his way towards the bathroom to get ready for bed. When he crawled underneath the sheets his eyes drifted towards his window, and he cringed when he realized that the sun was still out; he shook it off, however, and fell asleep in seconds.

Like he expected he was still quite exhausted when he woke up the next morning. He had no idea how he was able to sleep for so long and _not_ benefit from it; school dragged by like always, and when it finally ended he dropped his siblings off at home before driving to the psychiatric ward.

"You really need some sleep, bro," Sora said worriedly as he stepped out of the car, "You look like a zombie."

"Maybe you can steal a few of your patients' medication and see if it'll help you sleep." Xion suggested teasingly, and the brunet laughed alongside her.

"Very funny." Roxas shifted gears and proceeded to back out of the driveway. "I'll see you idiots later."

When the blond arrived in the usual lounge room his friends were there to greet him like always. They were all sitting by the far table, watching Naminé draw yet another picture.

"Are you sure you're sleeping, Roxas?" Demyx asked worriedly as the boy took his accustomed seat next to the flaxen-haired girl, "You're looking worse every time I see you."

"I don't even know anymore," The blond groaned as he leaned over Naminé's shoulder to see what she was drawing; it was the town's clock tower, "I _swear_ I remember falling asleep…"

"I have a feeling you're sleepwalking," Axel shrugged, "I mean, what other explanation is there?"

"But you're asleep when you're sleepwalking, or whatever," Larxene countered, "So you'd still be fully energized when you wake up."

"I dunno," Roxas groaned, "Maybe I should just get it over with and admit myself into this place." He smiled grimly when everyone except Naminé laughed.

"I'm pretty sure you're not going insane," Demyx chuckled, "You'd be in a far worse condition than you are now. Maybe Ansem's right - you're probably just stressed over the volunteer hour thing."

"Ah," Naminé gasped, and everyone turned to look at her; she had backed away from her picture and her usually half-open eyes were wide with what looked like fear, "W-what-" She stuttered, and her eyes widened even more.

"Speaking of going insane…" Larxene leaned into her palm and rolled her green eyes.

"Naminé?" Roxas raised an eyebrow, "What's wrong?" Worry began to tickle his insides when he noticed the tears rimming her eyelids.

"I-it's-" She stammered, pushing herself farther and farther away from the table, "-it's everywhere-" She raised her hands to stare at them, and she let out a high, ear-piercing shrill, "-it's…i-it's on my hands! Oh God-" She sprang to her feet, knocking over her chair, "-My hands, m-my hands!" Roxas stood up and tried to reach towards her, but she shook her head frantically and shrunk away from him. "D-don't touch me! You're gonna get it all over you!"

"Naminé," Roxas' voice was growing higher from the concern building up inside of him, "There's nothing on your hands." He glanced over his shoulder and noticed with surprise that the three young adults weren't doing anything to help. "What are you guys doing? She's having an episode!"

"Like there's anything we _can_ do." Larxene rolled her eyes again, and Roxas pursed his lips together to prevent himself from cussing at her.

"I n-need to wash this off-" Naminé rushed out of the lounge, and the blond jogged after her. He could hear her nearly nonsensical blabbering as she tore down the hallways, "-g-get clean, need to get clean - oh God, it's everywhere, everywhere - she's everywhere!"

The blonde turned into a random room and Roxas dashed in after her. The room they were in was a small employee's bathroom; Naminé had cranked the hot water to nearly full blast and was frantically scrubbing her hands with soap and a rag. Roxas approached her slowly and tried to turn the water off, but she aggressively shoved him away.

"Can't you see?" She glared at him, and the intensity in her stare threw him off somewhat, "Can't you see I'm trying to get this off? All this blood, all of it-" She began to mutter to herself as she continued scrubbing off the invisible blood, "-all of her blood, all of it - it has to get off, has to disappear. Must be clean, must be clean!" The tears were making their way down her pallid cheeks, and her small hands were raw and red from all the scrubbing and hot water. "Why won't it come off?" She sobbed as she began to scrub harder, "It's not coming off! Her blood's not coming off!"

Roxas swallowed the lump in his throat and leaned forward to turn the water off, sighing in relief when she did not push him away this time. She gaped at him as he gently took the soap and rag from her hands and tossed them into the sink. He felt another painful lump growing in his throat when he took her reddened hands in his. "Naminé," He said slowly, "There's no blood. You're totally clean."

She jerked away from him and backed up against the wall. "Y-you can't see it? How can you not see it?" She brought her hands up again, "It's everywhere! Dripping, staining, dirtying - _everywhere!"_ She tugged at the hem of her dress, "It's on my clothes, it's in my hair-" She reached upwards and began pulling at her white-blonde strands so hard he feared she was going to rip some off her scalp, "-and I can't get any of it off!" She began to calm down somewhat, sinking to the floor and drawing her fists to her heaving chest. "She's not coming off…"

Roxas did the first thing that came to mind; he lowered himself beside her and pulled her in for a hug. She squirmed a little at first, struggling to break free from his grasp but then she gave in and eased herself against him, though her fists were still pressed against her chest. She continued to cry into his shoulder as he rubbed her back comfortingly; there was an uncomfortable ache pulsating in the centre of his chest and with every passing moment he spent with the crying girl the worse the pain was getting.

For some reason he felt like he was at fault; why wasn't he able to prevent this?

"Roxas?" He glanced upwards and found Axel standing by the doorway with a disappointed look on his face. "How is she?"

"Catatonic," The blond replied as he continued to massage her back, "She won't stop talking about how she can't get this blood off of her-" He nodded towards her; she was still talking, though her voice was muffled against the fabric of his shirt. He shook his head and pressed his cheek against her hair, "-was she like this the last time she had an episode?"

"Kind of," The pyromaniac frowned and rubbed the back of his head, "But this is probably the first time she's never actually reached out to anyone, let alone hugged someone."

"Er," Roxas blushed and stared down at Naminé's white-blonde head, "I was the one that hugged her first, actually."

The redhead smirked. "Even better." There were footsteps approaching them, and he glanced down the hallway to see who it was. "Mm, looks like we're gonna have company."

A couple of nurses rushed in, carelessly shoving Axel to the side. They tried to pry Naminé away from Roxas, but much to his surprise the smaller blonde wrapped her tiny arms around his waist and stayed put. "Naminé," One of the nurses chided with feign kindness, "We have to get you to your room." The woman's voice was impatient and somewhat uncouth, and it grated against Roxas' nerves.

"Let go of her," The other nurse instructed austerely, "She needs to come with us."

Roxas reluctantly began to unwind his arms from the blonde's waist, but when she shook her head against his neck he stopped. "No," Her voice was still slightly muted from his shirt, "I don't...I don't want him to go."

The blond gave the nurses an apologetic look, and the latter sighed in annoyance. "You're not going to get any cleaner if you stay here, Naminé," One of the women tutted, and Roxas' heart stuttered when he felt the small blonde twitch against him, "Don't you want to get all of that yucky stuff off of you?"

After a few minutes of silence the small blonde turned to face the nurse; she sniffled and raised one hand to rub her eyes. "C-can…" She mumbled quietly, "Can Roxas come with me?"

The nurses exchanged dismal looks before nodding slowly. "Well, it looks like we don't have much of a choice." They stood up and gestured for Roxas to do the same. "C'mon, we need to take her back to her room so she can take her medication."

"Er, okay." He glanced downwards and Naminé looked up to meet eyes with him. "Up we go, Naminé." He stood up slowly, pulling her with him, and he hugged her against his side as he followed the nurses out of the small bathroom. Axel smirked at him before walking back towards the lounge.

"Way to go, Prince Charming." He laughed, and Roxas felt a blush invade his face. He continued to follow the nurses down a few more hallways, and they rode the elevator up a floor or two before zigzagging another few hallways. They finally stopped in front of a white door, and when one of the nurses opened it they revealed a plain white room with nothing in it but a small white bed pushed up against the white wall. A small barred window was on the wall facing them.

"Make sure she lies on the bed," One of the nurses instructed, "We'll be back with her meds."

Roxas' arms tightened around the small girl's waist. "What are you going to do to her?" He asked worriedly.

"We need to put her to sleep," The other nurse explained, "It's the only way to end manic behaviour." She could have been referring to an animal with the way her voice sounded.

"Uh, okay." When the nurses left Roxas guided the blonde, who was trembling quite violently, over to her bed. "Lie down, Naminé." He instructed kindly.

"B-but I'm gonna get the bed dirty," She stuttered, "And look - I already got it all over your clothes-" She began to cry again, "-I'm sorry, R-Roxas - you're all dirty because of m-me-"

"It's fine," He assured her, "I'll be sure to clean myself up once you get some sleep, okay?" He gently pressed down on her shoulders and he inwardly sighed in relief when she began to lower herself onto the mattress. He noticed that there were leather restraints attached to the edges, and he gulped. "Just relax - get some rest, and when you wake up you'll be all clean. I promise."

She sniffled and nodded through her tears. "O-okay." She reached for his hand, and he sucked in a breath when she weaved their fingers together. "Stay with me, please?"

He squeezed her hand and smiled his best for her. "I will, don't worry."

The nurses rushed in soon afterward; one of them was flicking a needle with her index finger. When Naminé's eyes fell over the small syringe she began to writhe around the bed. "W-what-" Her pale blue eyes grew wide and the tears returned, "-Roxas, what are they-"

"Hold her still." The nurse with the needle commanded, and Roxas couldn't do anything but bite his tongue and nod as he pinned the blonde's wrists to the mattress. The aching in his chest amplified when Naminé began to cry even louder.

"I'm sorry," He apologized over and over again as the nurse with the needle approached the bedside; another lump formed in his throat and his eyes began to sting, "It'll only hurt for a little bit, Naminé, and then you'll be fast asleep." The other nurse began to buckle the restraints around the girl's wrists and ankles, and when she had them securely fastened Roxas let go but he returned his hand to hers. "I'm sorry, Naminé..." He apologized again, though he had no idea why he was even doing it in the first place. The tears were beginning to fall now, and he quickly wiped them away with his free hand.

"R-Roxas-" She whimpered just before the nurse stabbed the underside of her elbow with the needle; in a few seconds her eyelids were beginning to flutter to a close, and her hand grew limp in his. In seconds she was out cold.

"She'll be out for the rest of the day," The nurse with the needle explained stoically, "So it's best you head back to your assigned lounge."

"No," He shook his head firmly as a few more tears trickled down his cheeks, "I told her I'd stay with her, so this is where I'm gonna be."

The second nurse tutted in disapproval. "You shouldn't grow so attached to the patients, you know." She shook her head before leaving the room with the first nurse, leaving Roxas to mull over her words.


	7. Headaches

**Headaches.**

"I'm sorry you had to see that, Roxas," Ansem frowned, "It's hard even for me to see someone as young as her go through something so horrible."

It had been nearly three days since the incident and Ansem and the other doctors had been busy restoring Naminé to a somewhat normal state. She was stable now so that meant that Ansem and Roxas were able to resume their weekly meetings, but unfortunately she wasn't stable enough to return to the lounge just yet.

"Is...is it normal for people in her condition to hallucinate like that?" The blond asked meekly. He looked more tired than usual; because of what happened he wasn't able to get any sleep at all.

"Yes - hallucinations like those are a common attribute to schizophrenia, I'm afraid," Ansem frowned, "Though this one is quite mild in comparison to her previous ones."

Roxas immediately glanced upwards to gape at the older man. "She's had _worse_ ones?" He thought that being doused in imaginary blood was the worst it could possibly get.

"Oh yes, far worse - there were points where we had to keep her in one of the padded rooms for a few days," Ansem's frown deepened as he forced himself to remember, "She would even have bouts of violence but it's rare for her to attack others - the only person she really harms is herself."

"Which is why her patient profile suggests to keep sharp objects away from her." Roxas concluded, and the older blond nodded.

"Yes - you must take all the precaution you can when interacting with her," He instructed firmly, "Because she's done a lot of damage to herself in the past."

He didn't even want to think about it. "I'll be sure to remember." He sifted through his memories of the incident and immediately lit up when he remembered something. "Oh, there was one other thing that I think you should know."

"What is it, Roxas?"

"When she talked about wanting to scrub the blood off she kept saying how it was _her_ blood, as in someone else's and not her own," The blond explained as he automatically brushed his fingers through his hair, "I don't know if that's any importance to you-"

"Oh, it is," Ansem assured him as he reached for his clipboard, "So you're saying that the blood she was supposedly soaked in was not her own?"

"I'm guessing it isn't," Roxas shrugged, "Unless she's referring to herself in third-person."

"Thank you for the new information, Roxas," Ansem smiled gratefully, "You're helping us solve the mystery."

"I want to figure this all out as much as you do," The blond admitted as he rose to his feet, "I don't know why, but I feel like I have to."

"You've grown quite close with Naminé, I've noticed," The older man smiled as Roxas flushed, "You know it isn't advisable for volunteers and employees to get involved with the patients."

The psychiatrist's implications only made the boy's discomfort worse. "Er, I assure you - I'm pretty sure we're thinking entirely different things here-"

"I've been studying human behaviour for more than twenty-five years, Roxas," Ansem chuckled wholeheartedly, "Don't think I don't know a lie when it's staring me in the face." He nodded towards the door. "I'll see you next week."

Great - he knew this was bad when he had a freaking _psychiatrist_ tell him what his feelings were.

"See, I _knew_ you loved her," Sora snorted the moment Roxas finished his explanation; the brunet doubled over on the couch, clutching his stomach with his hands, "My brother...in love with a crazy girl!"

The blond's hands tightened into fists. "Y'know, I'm getting a little tired of you ripping on her all the time - she hasn't done anything to deserve it!"

"Yeah, Sora - cut it out," Xion rolled her eyes, "You're so immature."

"Sorry man," The brunet sighed and wiped his eyes, "I can't help it."

"Mmhmm," Their half-sister rolled her eyes again, "Of course you can't."

Naminé wasn't in the lounge the next day, just like how she wasn't there the three days before that. Her lack of presence in the room reverberated painfully inside Roxas' chest, and it was affecting him so bad that Demyx and Axel had to distribute the medication to the other patients for him.

"Geez," Larxene shook her head, "Cheer up, would you? You're bringing down poor Kaori over here."

"Cut him some slack, Larxene," Axel muttered distractedly; he was actually trying to pay attention to the television, "Can't you see he misses her?" When Roxas' cheeks flared a dark scarlet he chuckled, though his eyes didn't leave the flickering screen. "Told you so."

"I just want to help her." The blond insisted, though his blush was getting worse.

"Everyone does, Roxas," Larxene rolled her eyes, "I mean, who wouldn't want to help a poor, defenseless, cute little girl? But let's face it - she's not going to get any better. No one knows what happened the night the cops found her walking the streets like some deranged hobo, and she won't say shit about anything so what's the point? It's a wild goose chase."

"I'm not giving up on her, if that's what you want me to do," The youngest blond growled as his hands balled into fists, "She needs my help and I'm going to give what I can to make sure she gets better."

The only female in the group cackled wildly; Demyx flinched from the sudden noise and even Axel twitched a little bit in his seat. "Just who the fuck do you think you are?" She stood up and loomed over the boy, but Roxas didn't waver one bit, "You come here against your own will with the only intention of getting through your damn community hours so you can graduate high school, and nearly one month later you're telling me you want to help some hapless girl who doesn't even want to help herself? You've got to be kidding me."

"I'm not, Larxene," Roxas glared up at her, "And for the record she _is_ getting better, and you know it! She's been talking and showing more emotion because Axel, Demyx and I take the time to actually interact with her in a positive way - unlike you, who puts her down at every chance you get."

"Oh please-" The blonde laughed darkly, "-saps like her are practically _asking_ for it. Y'know, I really don't get the people around here sometimes. Mental illness is a state of mind - the only person who can _really_ cure it is yourself, so why the fuck isn't anybody doing anything about it? You don't see Kaori trying to pick up the broken pieces of her sanity; she's not gluing them together, trying to piece it back into the whole entity that it used to be," She jerked her head over to Axel, who looked like he was trying to tune himself out of the conversation, "And Firecracker over here isn't doing anything to quell his addiction for burning the shit out of things. They're both just _sitting_ there, rotting away like their lives depend on it! Is it really pyromania and, uh, whatever the fuck Kaori has affecting their minds, or is it just sheer laziness and lack of motivation?"

"Well," Demyx piped up, "What about you, Larxene? If you're so frustrated over the fact that the other patients around here don't have the backbone to take matters into their own hands how come you're still here? Why are you lecturing Roxas, the only _sane_ person in this entire room, about how the only cure to mental illness is the motivation to actually deal with it when _you're_ the one that needs to be cured?"

The blonde gaped at him with wide green eyes for a good few minutes. Roxas could feel the tension sparking in between her and the musician; he turned over to Axel for help, but the pyromaniac seemed too occupied with the television to even notice that there was an argument taking place.

"You're just cocky 'cause you're more sane than most of us." Larxene spat before storming out of the room. Demyx smirked triumphantly and crossed his hands behind his head as he leaned back against the sofa, and Roxas chuckled and shook his head; the musician had the right to feel victorious.

"I gotta hand it to ya, Dem," Axel chuckled; oh, so he _was_ listening this entire time, "That was pretty bold of you." The two young men exchanged high-fives.

"Sometimes she needs to be reminded that she's a patient here too," The musician shrugged, "She's got no right to be treating others like that, especially vulnerable ones like Naminé."

The thought of the small blonde restrained to her bed brought an aching to Roxas' chest. "I hope she's getting better," He frowned as he tousled his blond spikes, "I want to see her soon."

"She'll be back in a few days' time," Axel assured him, "She always comes back."

"Anyway, I think it's time for me to go." Roxas stretched his arms and rose from his seat. "Thank God it's Friday - maybe I'll be able to actually sleep over the weekend."

Demyx chuckled and shrugged his shoulders. "You can only hope, right? See ya Monday, Roxas."

The day passed by slowly due to the blond's anticipation to see the small girl again; he couldn't stop thinking about her for some reason. When he got home he spent at least two hours examining each and every one of the drawings he tacked up on the walls; he noticed how most of them contained a blonde girl and a blond boy.

When he woke up the next morning the first thing he felt besides exhaustion was a sharp pain at the back of his head. Roxas groaned and clutched his spiky head with his hands, clamping his eyes shut in a vain effort to suppress the pain. Waking up with a headache was common nowadays ever since the weird sleeping-and-waking-up-tired thing started a month or so ago. He trudged into the bathroom to find some aspirin, and he popped a couple in his mouth and chugged down some water before returning to his bed. After writhing around uncomfortably for another ten minutes he managed to fall asleep again.

He woke up a few hours later to the sound of the front door opening and the thudding of uneven, lilting footsteps. Raising an eyebrow, Roxas pulled on a shirt and some pants and made his way out of his room and down the stairs, only to see his brother in his soccer uniform holding his leg. He then remembered how Sora's house team had a game today.

"What happened to you?" The blond asked amusedly as his brother limped over to the couch.

"Some idiot took a nice chunk outta my leg with his cleats," The brunet grumbled as he pulled his sock down, revealing a gash smeared across his shin, "I don't even know how it happened; cleats are way too blunt to deal this sorta damage."

"I'll go get a washcloth for you." Roxas ambled into the kitchen and ran a cloth through the sink before dashing into the living room. He tossed the cloth over to his brother and sat next to him on the sofa. "Where's Xion?"

"Out with Mom? I dunno," His brunet brother shrugged as he dabbed at his cut with the wet cloth, "I just know she isn't home." He wrapped the cloth around his wound and leaned back on the couch, closing his eyes as he tilted his head back. "No volunteering today?"

"Nah - I don't do weekends, remember?" Roxas ruffled his hair, "Though I guess it would be cool if I did - I mean, I hardly do anything on the weekend."

Sora gave his brother a sly grin. "You just want to see that Naminé girl. Is she any better, by the way?"

"Huh?"

"Didn't you say she had some sort of crazy attack or whatever, and she had to be knocked out or something?"

The blond's brow furrowed. "I told you about that? Huh, I don't remember…"

His brother chuckled and shook his head. "You really need to get more sleep, bro."

Roxas groaned and buried his face in his hands. "Don't remind me - I have no idea how this works," He complained tiredly, "This morning I woke up with a headache and I decided to take some aspirin, and then I went back to sleep but then I woke up when I heard you come in and I _still_ felt like I haven't slept at all. What the hell is going on? Am I _imagining_ myself falling asleep or something?"

"Did that Ansem guy tell you anything new?"

"Not really," Roxas shook his head dismally, "He still thinks it's just stress, but I doubt it - I mean, school was never really my biggest priority and it's not like I do any backbreaking work at the psych ward."

Sora crossed his arms and furrowed his brow. "Maybe you're just going crazy."

The blond laughed ruefully. "I've been spending too much time at the mental hospital, have I?" He stood up and stretched his arms. "Maybe I should just go for a walk; I need to clear my head a little."

The brunet nodded in agreement. "That sounds like a good idea."

"I'll see you in a bit - wrap that thing up, it's turning the cloth red!" Roxas hollered before closing the door behind him. It was nice out, thankfully, and he breathed in a lungful of fresh, early summer air as he trotted down the pathway from his door to the sidewalk and veered left towards the park just a couple of blocks away.

As he crossed the street an unfamiliar image flashed across his mind, causing him to stop walking. His brow furrowed in confusion, but then he shook it off and resumed crossing the street. When his shoes hit the pavement once more the same image came up again, though this time it also came with an intense pain near the back of his head, almost like someone was trying to push a pin straight through his skull.

"Ngh…" The pain was so great he couldn't walk anymore; he sank to his knees and clutched the sides of his head with both hands, clamping his eyes shut. The image kept flickering in and out of his vision, and every time it came back the worse the hurt became.

The image wasn't even clear: it was all murky and noisy, like trying to watch a television program with bad reception. He couldn't see anything except for a pair of bright, twin lights approaching him from the distance.

The pain flared up again and Roxas was beginning to feel a little lightheaded. His breathing grew haggard as he tried to stand up, but when he was halfway there his knees gave way and he stumbled back onto the cement sidewalk. Groaning, he tried opening his eyes to see if there was anyone around that could help but there wasn't. Just his luck.

It was getting worse now; nausea began to swirl around in his stomach and he heaved over the sidewalk so that his head was facing the grass, breathing heavily and sweating profusely. He could feel his heartbeat literally pounding in his chest and his hands were beginning to tremble. He needed help, he needed someone to stop the pain. He reached into his pocket for his phone and tried to dial his brother's number, but then everything began to fade in and out like a long-forgotten memory.

"S-Sora-" Roxas groaned before dropping his cell phone onto the grass and tumbling down with it.

--

_A/N: Woo, 100+ reviews! Thanks for all the support, guys - I really appreciate it!_

_By the way I've posted a new poll up - I suggest you all check it out and vote ; )_

_Thank you again for the wonderful reviews, and I'll see you next week!_


	8. Red Paint

_A/N: Writing this chapter made me a little squeamish, so take that as a forewarning._

_--_

**Red Paint.**

Roxas woke up with a start; he bolted straight out of bed with his eyes wide open and his chest rising and falling rapidly. Sweat drenched his shirt as he glanced around, raising an eyebrow when he realized he was in his room. He turned towards the window and found out that it was already evening; the sky was a dark, dark blue and the stars were beginning to pop up.

Sora opened the door soon afterward with a glass of water. "Hey." He strode over to his brother and handed him the water before pulling up the desk chair by the bedside. "How are you feeling?"

Xion suddenly walked in; she looked a little anxious at first but when she saw Roxas sitting upright in his bed her expression relaxed. "Oh, you're okay. That's good."

The blond shook his head and ran his fingers through his hair. "How...how did I-"

"You called me, remember?" Sora reached towards the desk and held up Roxas' phone, "Then I found you unconscious by the sidewalk and I brought you home."

"You were out for awhile," Xion explained as she moved to sit on the edge of her blond brother's bed, "Mom was worried sick about you."

"Where is she?"

"Downstairs - you'd probably want to go talk to her when you're well enough," The dark-haired girl jerked her thumb towards the door, "And y'know - she probably wants to know you're still alive."

Roxas ruffled his hair again as he swung his legs over the side of the bed. He stood up slowly, and when he realized he was strong enough to walk he nodded over to his siblings. "I think I'll do that now - thanks for your help, I don't know where I'd be without you two."

"Face-up in a gutter somewhere, probably." Xion shrugged.

"Or thrown in a ditch." Sora added.

"Ha-ha." Roxas rolled his eyes as he left his room. The moment his feet touched the first floor of the house his mother came out from the kitchen and captured him in a suffocating hug. He nearly dropped his empty glass from surprise. "Agh - M-Mom - too...tight!"

"S-sorry," She pulled away from him and he noticed how her eyes were red-rimmed, "I was just so worried about you."

He rubbed the back of his neck and gave his mother a sheepish smile. "I'm fine, Mom, there's nothing to worry about." He walked into the kitchen to drop his glass in the sink, and his mother followed him.

"What happened to you? Why did you just suddenly pass out?"

Roxas rumpled his hair as he sat across from his mother at the dining table. "I have no idea - I was just walking and I got this really bad headache, and then I started to see something, something weird. It kept flashing in and out of my head, but whenever it came back my headache would get worse." He frowned and began to fiddle with his hands. "All I could see was two lights coming towards me."

He swore he saw his mother's face grow pale for a few seconds. "Maybe you've been having nightmares."

"I dunno - I don't think I've really been sleeping lately."

His mother's eyes lowered to her hands. "Do you...do you think you need to see a doctor about this?"

Roxas' eyes widened and he shook his head furiously. "No, no! It's nothing serious, Mom-"

"Roxas, you haven't been sleeping and you're getting random headaches and odd flashbacks. How is it not serious?"

"It isn't," He assured her, "I...it's probably just the stress from trying to finish my volunteer hours and everything. I kinda told one of the doctors at the psych ward about my sleeping problem, and he keeps telling me it's stress. I mean, he can't be wrong, right? He's the doctor around here." He laughed a little shakily and rubbed the back of his head. "I'm pretty sure this'll all go away once I finish volunteering."

His mother looked unconvinced but she nodded anyway. "Alright, if you say so." She sighed and rose from her seat, shaking her head. "Anyway, I need to head out again. Are you going to be okay on your own?"

Roxas raised an eyebrow. "Sora and Xion are gonna be here if anything happens, right?"

She swallowed and nodded. "Yes, yes they will be. I'll be out late, so you're going to have to make dinner for yourself."

"That's fine with me. Later, Mom."

"Bye, honey." She left the kitchen quickly, and Roxas stared in confusion as she hastily grabbed her keys off the hook hanging on the wall and closed the door behind her. Huh, at least he wasn't the only one that was acting abnormal lately.

"Where'd Mom hurry off to?" Sora had somehow appeared by the doorway without him noticing, and Xion was right beside him.

"Oh - she said she was going out. She didn't say where, though." Roxas frowned and tousled his hair. "She's been out a lot lately, hasn't she?"

"Maybe she's got some kind of secret boyfriend." Xion snickered, and both brothers stared at her in shock. "What? It makes sense, doesn't it?"

"I don't know," The brunet shrugged, "I mean, after two failed relationships you'd think she'd have enough."

Their half-sister glared at him. "That's not a very nice thing to say, Sora - and to our mom, out of all people! Sure, she's had a couple of botched marriages but that doesn't mean she should give up."

"She wasn't married when she had you, remember?" Roxas pointed out, "Didn't the guy just leave her, or something?"

Xion's face fell. "Oh yeah. I totally forgot about that."

Sora scratched the side of his head. "And then Dad came along and things went well for a few years, and then suddenly everything just fell apart. It's weird how things work like that."

"That's just the way the cookie crumbles, I suppose." The dark-haired girl shrugged. "I'm pretty sure Mom will open up eventually - she never keeps secrets from us."

"Yeah." Roxas yawned and stretched his arms, but then he froze halfway; there was a strange, faint noise coming from upstairs. "Hey, do you hear that?"

The brunet chuckled. "And you say you don't need to see a doctor-ow!" Xion had elbowed him in the ribs.

"Shut up, Sora - I can hear it too." She craned her head towards the stairs. "I think your phone's ringing, Roxas."

"Huh? Who would be calling at this time?" The blond dashed out of the kitchen and hopped the stairs two steps at a time. He scrambled into his room, grabbed his phone and held it up to his ear. "H-hello?" He was slightly out of breath from all that running.

"Roxas?" It was Zexion, and he sounded a little frantic. "Where are you?"

"At home," The blond quirked up an eyebrow, "Why?"

"We...we have an emergency," Zexion explained; he sounded a little distracted and frightened at the same time, and that was saying something since he was never one to show much emotion in the first place, "We need you right away."

His words only confused Roxas more. "Why do you need me? Aren't there a ton of professionals in the hospital who can take better care of the patients?"

"She won't listen to anybody," Zexion replied agitatedly, and the blond's heart nearly stopped when he realized who the young intern was talking about, "There's nobody in the entire hospital who can get through to her. You're the only one, Roxas - I know she'll pay attention to you."

"Okay, just...just tell her to hold on for me, alright? I'll be there soon. Tell her I'll be there very soon." He cancelled the call and shoved his phone into his pocket before jogging down the stairs. When his hand was inches away from the doorknob he heard his brother and sister rushing out from the kitchen.

"And where do you think you're going?" Xion asked sternly with her arms crossed over her chest.

"There's an emergency at the psych ward and they need my help," Roxas explained quickly, "There's something wrong with Naminé."

Sora chuckled darkly and shook his spiky head. "Of course - he'd only be this rushed if Naminé was in trouble."

"Shut up - tell Mom I'll be home late." He locked the door and raced to his car. He was ripping through the streets, driving at least ten to fifteen kilometres above the speed limit but he didn't care; Naminé needed his help, and he was going to give it to her.

The second he parked his car in the back lot he scrambled out, nearly forgetting to lock his door, and sped towards the front doors. He frantically searched the front desk for the grey-haired intern but he was nowhere to be found. Roxas' heartbeat was thudding louder in his ears with every passing second and his hands flexed into rigid claws by his sides; he needed to find Naminé.

"Roxas," Zexion came jogging out from a random hallway, "That was fast."

"I came as quickly as I could," The blond replied as he tried to calm his racing pulse, "Wh-where is she?"

"In her room - come." He followed the intern down a hallway and into the elevator; he noticed that Zexion was holding a few papers in his hands, and his white coat was stained with something red; he had a faint idea of what it was, and the thought made him sick to his stomach.

"Er, what exactly _is_ the emergency?" Roxas asked nervously; he couldn't take his eyes off the red stains on the intern's coat.

Zexion sighed and shook his head. "It's...it's kind of hard to explain. It's something you'll have to see for yourself." The doors parted and both boys walked through; the intern led the blond down another set of hallways, and when they reached the hall with Naminé's room the first thing Roxas noticed was the small group of nurses and doctors huddled in front of a door near the end of the hallway.

"Whoa." Was the only thing that was able to come out of the blond's mouth.

"Nearly every doctor working tonight is here but they can't get through to her," Zexion explained sadly, "She just keeps doing what she's doing like she's the only one in the room." They approached the crowd, and the intern gestured towards the nervous boy beside him. "He's here."

Ansem emerged from the sea of lab coats and when he spotted Roxas his shoulders depressed with relief. "Oh, thank goodness you're here-" He threw an arm around the boy's shoulders and guided him through the various doctors, "-Naminé's been unresponsive."

"What has she been doing?" Roxas asked; there were a couple doctors blocking him from the entrance to her room.

Ansem sighed and ran a hand through his slick hair. "Son, it won't be easy for you to see this, I assure you," He sighed again and gently eased his way in between the doctors that were standing in front of the doorway, "She's having another episode, and this time it's one of the...more complicated ones."

"Huh-" Roxas glanced upwards, and he nearly fell back from what he was seeing.

Naminé was seated on the floor on the opposite side of her room, leaning against the wall and clutching something in her hand. The arm that was not holding the object was resting across her thighs, face-up and shiny with blood that was gushing out of a large abrasion in her wrist. Her skirt was almost completely soaked and dried blood clung to the ends of her hair. The blood loss made her paler than usual and her shoulders were trembling aggressively. What made the scene more sickening was the fact that she was using her blood to paint a part of the wall; beside her she had painted a small picture of a house: in front of it were four people grouped together, much like a family. There were two girls, and behind them was a sad-looking mother and an angry-looking father. One of the girl's hair was coloured in while the other's was just outlined.

Ansem's hand pushed on Roxas' back and it brought the boy back to reality; he stumbled forward and swallowed hard as he approached the small blonde, who was distractedly staring into space. He noticed with horror that she was still picking at her arm with the small object. When he was close enough he noticed that she was holding a tiny paintbrush; the end was thin enough to penetrate flesh if one stabbed themselves hard enough.

"N-Naminé," Roxas stuttered as he knelt in front of her; he could feel the tears stinging his eyes as he searched the blonde's face, "Naminé, hey, I'm right here." He snapped his fingers; her eyes twitched but she didn't face him. "Naminé," He called again, reaching forward and grabbing her face with his hands; she finally looked at him and his chest throbbed painfully when he read the lack of presence in her eyes, "What are you doing?" He asked softly as the tears began to fall.

"I-I-" She mumbled, her eyes lowering to her arm, "I needed...I need red paint. I need red paint. Red paint." She repeated over and over again in the same low, distracted voice and she raised her hand to take another stab at her arm but Roxas stopped her. She glared up at him and tried to wriggle away from his grasp. "L-let go - I need to finish, need to finish my painting-" Her voice cracked and she writhed violently in his hands, "-I-I need to finish - red paint-"

"I'll get you some red paint," He said firmly as he wiped his tears away, "Only if you stop hurting yourself." He grabbed her face again and forced her to look at him. "Are you listening to me, Naminé?" His voice hardened, though the tears were still falling, "You're not listening, aren't you?" When she did not answer he shook her a little, but she was still not looking in his direction. "Listen to me!" He demanded, "Dammit, Naminé, if you don't listen to me right now I'm leaving you. There's no point in me staying here if you're not going to pay attention." Of course he wasn't telling the truth, but he had no choice but to threaten her.

Her big, tearful blue eyes stared straight into his and her bottom lip was trembling. She dropped the bloody paintbrush and grabbed his shoulder, shaking her blonde head. "Don't leave," She begged, and leaned forward to rest her cheek against his chest. She wrapped her good arm around his waist and clung to him as she sobbed into his shirt. "D-don't leave me, please. I don't want you to go," She hiccuped through her tears, "I don't want you to go. Please, please don't leave. Don't leave me, Roxas, please."

His heart went out to her, and he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her onto his lap. He hushed her as he hugged her close to him, stroking her blood-encrusted hair and resting his cheek against the side of her head. He didn't care if she got blood on his clothes; he wanted to make sure she was okay. "Will you promise not to hurt yourself anymore?" He sniffled and briefly reached upwards to wipe his own tears away.

She nodded against his chest. "No more hurting." She assured him as she cuddled closer against his body; she kept her damaged arm close to her chest so she would not get any blood on him. Her trembling ceased a little, much to his relief.

"They're going to have to clean you up first, okay?" Roxas told her softly as he gestured for Ansem to come inside, "They'll fix you up and then I'll give you your paint. How does that sound?"

Naminé shook her head. "I don't want to paint anymore. I'm tired." She began to shake again and her arm tightened around him. "But I don't want to go away from you."

"It'll only be for a little while," He promised her as he helped her to her feet, "They're just gonna give you a bath to get all this nasty stuff off of you, and then once you get dressed in some new clothes I'll be back."

A few nurses held onto her upper arms, and she nodded slowly. "O-okay," She answered unsurely, "But...you'll be here for sure, right? Promise me you will be."

He reached for her hand and wrapped his pinky around hers. "I promise." He gave her a reassuring smile before the nurses led her out of her room, and when she was gone he exhaled shakily and moved to sit on the edge of the bed. His legs were trembling and his heart was racing; the room felt like it was spinning.

"Roxas," He glanced upwards and found Ansem standing a few feet in front of him; behind him Xehanort and Xemnas were examining the painting on the wall, "Are you alright? I understand how exhausted you must feel, both physically and mentally; if you wish to go home you-"

"No," The blond shook his head, "I promised her I'd stay. I'll just call my mom later - there's no need to worry about me."

"I guess that would be better," Ansem sighed, "Naminé does seem to be very fond of you. I've never seen her so emotional, so talkative before - your presence really does make a difference, you know."

He flushed. "I want to help her, Ansem, I really do. She doesn't deserve this."

"She most certainly doesn't." The older man agreed; he paused for a minute, hesitating, and then he spoke up. "Roxas...I'm afraid there's something I've been hiding from you."

The blond raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

Ansem sighed again and shook his head, as if he was disappointed in himself. "I told you once before that I had no idea who she was the day before the police found her, but really I have some sort of a theory."

Roxas immediately stood up. "How?"

"When the police found her she was wearing a schoolbag, which gave us the assumption that she was walking home from school, and then she got sidetracked, leaving her out on the streets for the rest of the evening. I have her things in my office if you wish to see them. They might be of some interest to you."

"Yes," The blond nodded eagerly, "I want to see them. Please."

Ansem gave him a sad smile. "I'll be sure to bring you back before Naminé finishes cleaning up."

--

_A/N: I know, I know - another cliffhanger - but you know what? _Too bad. _=)_

_This chapter has been inspired by Our Lady Peace's _In Repair.


	9. Princess

**Princess.**

It was a long, quiet walk to Ansem's office. Both Roxas and the head psychiatrist were swimming in their own thoughts and memories of the odd turn of events that just occurred. The younger blond couldn't wipe the image of the small girl with her blood-soaked arm out of his head; it hurt so much just thinking about it, and it wasn't because of the fact that the self-inflicted abrasions on her arm looked painful - it was because of the plain fact that this girl was _hurting herself._ He didn't understand why he felt so compelled to help her, or why he was so determined to find a way to bring her out of the hellhole she had fallen into, but he knew that this girl needed his help and he was going to be there when she needed him.

When they finally reached the office Ansem circled his desk and reached underneath; he pulled out a simple canvas messenger bag and placed it on top of the polished wooden surface. The fabric of the bag was mottled with dark brown spots - dried blood. "She has all her schoolwork in here," He explained, "And this." He pulled out a thin sketchbook with a worn orange cover. "It's quite interesting to look at."

Roxas took the sketchbook from the man's hands and flipped it open. His eyes widened at the hand-drawn landscape of Twilight Town; it was so detailed and intricate that the picture somehow looked more real than the actual thing. He flipped through a few more pages and marveled at the other drawings. Some were of inanimate objects like fruit or a bunch of random items bunched together, and some were landscapes of different areas of the town. At the bottom-right corner of every picture Naminé had signed her full name in neat cursive writing: _Naminé Mitsuyo. _

"I omitted her last name in her patient profile because I thought it would be easier for you to find or recognize her," Ansem admitted, "Just before you signed up as a volunteer I found out that she used to be a student at your school. She would be in your grade, Roxas."

The boy's eyes widened. "Really? I don't remember seeing her at all, though."

The older man's brow creased with thought. "Hm, that's odd. Maybe you had drastically different schedules."

"Probably." His eyes ran over the sketchbook again. "I never knew she used to be such an amazing artist - does having a mental illness hamper your talents?"

"Sometimes, yes," Ansem replied gravely, "When the mind is almost totally distracted from reality it's hard to do many things. I'm pretty sure you understand what I'm saying."

"Yeah, I do." Roxas flipped to the last page, and he squinted at the drawing. "Huh, who's this?" He turned the sketchbook around to show the doctor: it was a portrait of a girl who looked very much like Naminé, except her hair was straighter and a deep, wine red. There was a name written at the bottom. "Kairi Mitsuyo?"

"She's Naminé's twin sister," Ansem explained, "She also went to your school."

"You know, I actually might've heard of her," Roxas' eyebrows knitted together as he wracked his brain, "It sounds familiar...and when I look at this picture I feel like I've seen her somewhere before."

"I've tried contacting their parents but no one's ever home," Ansem frowned, "The police have visited the house many times but no one answers the door. I'm beginning to think that they've abandoned the place, or maybe they moved away without telling anyone."

"But if they moved why is Naminé still here, and do you know what happened to Kairi?"

The older man shook his head. "I can only assume that she is with their parents. As for Naminé, I cannot answer. Only she knows what happened the night the police found her - even if it seems like she can't remember it's probably locked in the catacombs of her memory. Whatever happened must have been traumatizing; there's no other explanation for a girl like her to be wandering the streets mute, barefoot and covered in dirt."

Roxas thought back to the bloody mural on the wall. "That picture she painted...there were two girls and a man and a woman. Do you think the two girls in the picture could've been her and Kairi? And the people in the back...they could've been their parents!"

"It makes sense," Ansem agreed, "One girl's hair was coloured in red, which is safe to assume that one of the girls in that picture was indeed her sister. It only makes further sense to assume that the second girl, the one without colour in her hair, is Naminé herself. As for the adults, it can also be possible that they were their parents. She drew a house in the background, yes?" Roxas nodded. "That might've been a depiction of their home."

"Maybe the picture is trying to tell us what happened," Roxas theorized, "Maybe she's trying to tell us, or she's starting to remember."

"It can be possible - you can try talking about it, but be sure to be subtle in case she feels uncomfortable. These things take time." Ansem stood up and gestured towards the door. "I think it's about time you head back - her dress is probably clean." When Roxas gave him an odd look he chuckled. "She doesn't like wearing anything else, remember?"

"Oh, right." He followed the blond man out of the door and down the confusing hallways, up the elevator and through more hallways until they reached Naminé's room. When they stepped inside the blond noticed that someone had already wiped the blood off the walls.

Ansem placed a hand on his shoulder. "You'll need to keep an even closer eye on her now, Roxas, which means you might have to stay overnight. I hope that does not become much of a burden for you."

The boy shook his head. "No, not at all - I already told you how I wanted to help out." He flushed and stared down at his shoes. "Naminé needs me, a-and...for some reason I think I need her too."

The older man chuckled. "Your devotion to this girl is admirable." He turned around and began to make his way out. "'Till our next meeting, Roxas."

The blond gave him a small wave before sitting on the edge of the bed. He gulped and ran his fingers through his hair; he could smell the cleaning solution the nurses used for the walls, and it was beginning to give him a headache. He didn't want another one, for he feared he was going to black out again and have another weird hallucination.

There was the sound of bare feet padding against the floor, and he glanced upwards to see Naminé shyly shuffling into the room with a nurse close behind her. When the small blonde noticed Roxas sitting by her bed she beamed childishly and rushed over to him, wrapping her arms around his neck and hopping onto his lap. He chuckled and stroked her soft, clean hair; he glanced over her shoulder and saw the nurse giving him a nasty glare before leaving the room.

"You stayed," Naminé pulled back to smile at him again; he could feel the bandages on her arm rubbing against the skin of his neck, "I didn't think you would."

Roxas chuckled again and leaned forward to touch her forehead with his. "Why not? I promised you I would, didn't I?"

She coloured a little in embarrassment, and he was suddenly overwhelmed with the urge to...no, he couldn't. Ansem wouldn't approve of that. He broke away from his thoughts when Naminé yawned against his hair. "Mm," She murmured, "I'm sleepy."

He briefly lifted her into his arms and swiveled around to place her on the mattress. As he reached for the sheets to pull them over her body he felt her hand on his wrist. "What is it, Naminé?" He asked quietly as his eyes drifted over her face; her eyes were half-open and her bangs were barely concealing her bashful expression.

"Y-you're staying with me, right?" She whispered, and her grip on his wrist tightened just a little, "You promised."

It was Roxas' turn to blush. "Er, I don't know if Ansem would want me to do that-"

Her eyes were irresistibly beseeching, and he felt his heart ache for her. "I don't want you to go, Roxas," She pleaded, "Please...just this one time. I promise I won't tell."

He sighed; there was no way he could say no to her. The blond kicked off his shoes and crawled underneath the sheets beside her; he stiffened when he felt her press against his side, but he relaxed once he realized he liked the feeling and he rolled over so that she could fit her head against the curve of his neck. He smiled softly as he draped one arm over her waist, pulling her closer, and when she sighed against his skin his smile broadened.

"You make everything go away," She mumbled tiredly; he could feel her eyelashes fluttering against his neck, "When you're around everything...everything's in one piece. Everything makes sense." She sighed again and snuggled closer against him. "Why do you think it's like that, Roxas?"

He rubbed her back slowly, and he briefly paused over her heart. He could feel it pumping rhythmically against his palm. "I don't know," He whispered back, "But for some reason I feel the same way when I'm with you too."

"I've never felt this way about someone before," She admitted in a low voice, "Not even...not even my sister made me feel this way, and she was my...my only friend."

This seemed like a good opportunity to ask a few questions. "You have a sister?"

"Y-yes," The uncertainty in Naminé's voice was questionable, "Her name's Kairi, but they always called her Princess. To them she was Princess - probably because they always treated her like one. They loved her and paid attention to her, and she deserved it too. She's so smart, Roxas - she gets the best grades in school, she's on every sports team, she likes to help out in the community," She shook her head and added in an even lower voice, "She's perfect."

Images of his school flashed through his head, and he remembered looking through the glass cabinets that held all of the trophies and other sports-related achievements. He remembered seeing Kairi's name engraved into a few of the plaques; so _that's_ where he saw her before. He glanced downwards at the small blonde in his arms and noticed she was beginning to tremble again. He rubbed circles on her back and stroked her hair; that was enough reminiscing for today. "C'mon, Naminé - you said you were tired, remember? Let's try and get some sleep, okay?"

She yawned against him once more and nodded. "Okay." She curled against his side and yawned a third time. "Goodnight, Roxas."

He chuckled and squeezed her affectionately. "Sweet dreams, Naminé."

When he woke up the next morning the first thing he realized - besides the fact that he was _still_ in Naminé's bed - was the fact that he felt fully energized; he finally slept through the night!

Roxas rolled over and noticed that the small blonde lying beside him was still fast asleep with her back turned to him; he watched her shoulders rise and fall as she breathed and he slowly reached out towards her, slipping an arm around her middle and scooting closer. He could smell the shampoo in her hair and the soap on her skin from when she bathed the night before, and he couldn't resist burying his face into her neck. He knew he wasn't supposed to be doing this, but how couldn't he?

"Mm," She murmured, rolling around and winding her arms around his neck; she nuzzled her head against his collarbone and he reveled in the sensation of her soft hair running across his skin. She breathed in deep, and for a minute he thought she was going to speak some more but then she ended up sighing and nestling closer into his embrace.

"Naminé," He whispered gently into her ear, "It's time to wake up." He glanced over his shoulder and noticed the stream of sunlight running through the barred window.

"Five more minutes." She mumbled stubbornly into his neck.

He chuckled and sat up, bringing her with him. The sheets rolled off of their torsos and she shivered, pressing her body closer against his. The contact made him blush but he quickly shook it off. "C'mon," He insisted as he swung his legs over the side of the bed; he pulled her to her feet and let her lean against him, "The nurses are going to come soon."

He laughed again when Naminé groaned in protest and pushed herself away from him; she sleepily rubbed her eyes with her knuckles and huffed in frustration. "But I was having such a nice dream."

"Oh? What were you dreaming about, Naminé?"

Her pale cheeks darkened into a deep scarlet and her big blue eyes dropped to her toes. "You." She mumbled in a low voice, but he managed to hear her anyway and he blushed too.

"Naminé," A nurse came into the room; when she eyed Roxas without his shoes on and his shirt creased and crumpled from sleep her eyes narrowed, "It's time to wash up for the day."

"Can I go into the lounge afterward?" The small blonde asked eagerly, "I want to see Axel and Demyx - I miss them."

"We'll have to see what Ansem says. Now c'mon - the water will get cold if you don't hurry." The nurse ushered Naminé out of the room, but not before turning over her shoulder to throw Roxas one last quick glare.

The boy sheepishly rubbed the back of his head as he bent over to pull his sneakers on. He reached into his pocket and his eyes widened when his fingers brushed against his phone; he forgot to call home last night!

The second he dialed his house number his mother picked up. "Roxas? Where are you?!"

"Sorry Mom - I'm at the psych ward; there was an emergency last night and they needed my help…didn't Sora or Xion tell you?"

"N-no, they didn't…" His mother's voice faltered for a moment, but it picked up soon afterward, "But at least I know now that you're okay. What was the emergency?"

"One of the patients was having an episode and I'm the only one she listens to," Roxas' fingers were threading through his messy hair, "So they called me over."

"Oh. What time are you coming home?"

"Before noon - I'm gonna stay for a bit to see if she'll be okay on her own."

"Alright, I'll see you soon then. Make sure to call the next time another emergency comes up, Roxas." His mother sounded exasperated, but it was understandable.

"I will, I will. Sorry for making you worry. I'll see you later." He rumpled his hair again as he shoved his phone back into his pocket and made his way out of Naminé's room. He managed to maneuver through the twisted hallways back to the lounge, and when he spotted Axel's familiar mane of bright red spikes a smile crept onto his face.

"Heyyyy," The pyromaniac grinned slyly and threw an arm around the younger boy's shoulders, "So I heard someone got lucky last night."

Roxas raised an eyebrow. "What are you talking about?"

"You slept in Naminé's room!" Demyx exclaimed, and the blond boy's cheeks flared up again.

"Look, it's not what it looks like-" He held his hands up as his friends shook with laughter, "-she was having an episode and I was the only one she would listen to-"

"So fucking her is the best way to take her out of her hallucinations? Why hasn't anyone thought of that before?" Larxene glanced up from her nails and rolled her eyes, "You're smarter than I thought."

Roxas' hands clenched into fists. "We didn't do anything like that; she didn't want me to leave so I just...er, slept with her-" When he realized how awkward that sounded he flushed and waved his hands frantically in the air as the three young adults laughed louder, "-as in slept in the same bed, not...you know!"

"He's probably telling the truth," The only female in the group sighed and wiped her tears away, "I mean, if they really were fucking we probably would've heard them - she looks like a screamer, don't you think?"

"Shut up, Larxene." Roxas muttered through gritted teeth.

"Okay, okay, we know what you're trying to say- calm down," Axel shook his head, "How bad was it last night?"

Memories of the mural on the wall faded back into the boy's memory and he cringed. "Really bad," The blond explained as he sat in between the redhead and the musician, "She somehow managed to get a hold of a small paintbrush, and she was stabbing the end of it into her arm." He shook his head and pulled his fingers through his hair. "She was using her blood to paint a picture on the wall - she said she needed red paint."

Larxene let out a low whistle. "That's some creepy shit - and trust me, I _know_ creepy."

Axel looked very bothered by what Roxas told him; his head was low and his eyes were downcast. "That's not good…" He murmured sadly, "I thought she was getting better."

"She is," The blond boy reassured him, "This morning she asked the nurses if she could come into the lounge today. She wants to see you - and Demyx too."

"I miss that girl," The musician sighed, "I hope she'll be allowed to come today."

"She should," Roxas replied, "She's looking a lot better than yesterday - she's talking and even smiling."

Axel playfully nudged the blond's shoulder. "I think she likes you."

Demyx snickered. "And I think you like her back."

Roxas' face was tomato-red. "W-what? No, I don't-"

"Really, Roxas, who are you trying to kid?" Larxene cackled, "You've got the hots for the most fucked up patient in your assigned room - admit it!"

The blond boy began to fiddle with his hands. "No, I don't think of her like that - I just want to help her," His face grew redder and his eyes lowered, "And b-besides, Ansem wouldn't like it if, er, well...y'know."

Axel threw his head back and laughed loudly. "Hah, I knew it! You like her and the only thing that's holding you back is the possibility of Ansem disapproving your relationship!"

"Not like he can do much, anyway," The sadist shrugged, "I mean, the guy slept in her damn room last night!"

Roxas groaned and buried his face in his hands; his lack of an answer only confirmed his friends' suspicions, and they broke out into laughter again.

"Aw, it's nothing to be embarrassed about," Demyx clapped a hand on the boy's shoulder, "You can't help who you fall in love with, and besides, you got lucky - Naminé's a sweet girl who deserves to be cared for. She needs someone like you."

"I totally approve of you, Roxas - Dem's right, she needs a guy like you," Axel gave him the thumbs-up, "And who knows - maybe you'll really help her get better."

"Axel!" A soft voice exclaimed from the doorway; everyone turned their heads to see an ecstatic Naminé making her way towards the pyromaniac. The redhead laughed and stood up to capture the small blonde in a bear hug, and the girl giggled into his white shirt. "I've missed you-" She reached out towards Demyx and hugged his waist, "-and you too, Demyx!"

"We missed you a lot, Naminé," The musician smiled kindly as he tousled her hair; in the background Larxene was rolling her eyes, "How're you feeling?"

The blonde turned to face Roxas; her big blue eyes were bright and glistening with the rays of the sun, and he awed at how beautiful they were. There was a smile gracing her small, pink lips. "Much better, thanks to him."

The blond boy grinned and shook his head. "Ah, I can't take all the credit; you could've-_oof!"_

Naminé had rammed herself into him, throwing her arms around his waist and nuzzling her head against his neck. He gulped nervously, but he hugged her close and pressed his cheek against her hair. "Thank you," She murmured into his shoulder, "Because of you I'm getting better and better. I know we haven't known each other for very long but...y-you mean a lot to me, Roxas."

He could hear Axel, Larxene and Demyx snickering in the background and it only made him more anxious. "You mean a lot to me too, Naminé," He pulled away from her and smiled, "And it makes me happy to hear that you're getting better. I'm glad I'm helping you get there." He ruffled his hair and hesitantly unwound his arms from her waist. "Anyway, I have to head home - my mom's worried sick about me. I'll see you guys on Monday."

The smallest blonde's face reddened for a moment, and when she stood on her tiptoes to quickly kiss Roxas on the cheek she only grew redder. "I'll be waiting."

His body went numb, and all of a sudden the room looked brighter. Axel's hair was so red it hurt his eyes, and the green in Larxene's stare was greener than his front lawn on a clear spring day. The three young adults were giggling amongst themselves again, and even Naminé was laughing a little bit; her tinkling voice reverberated in his eardrums as he tried to make his way towards the door. He spun around, almost stumbling over his feet in the process, and gave his friends a dazed wave. "I-I'll see you later."

"Bye, Roxas." Axel, Larxene and Demyx chorused jokingly before bursting out into laughter again.

Naminé was the only one who was making any sense; she gave him one of those wonderfully small smiles of hers and waved back. "Bye."

He gave her another wave before bumbling out of the room.

--

_A/N: Ah, so we're beginning to see what Kairi's role in this story is...hm, interesting.  
To be honest with you I'm doing all of this in a whim, so everything is just as new to me as it is to all of you, haha. I can't wait to see what happens next!_

_Now for a bit of self-advertising:  
Anybody have Twitter? Well if you do, you can follow me at _himynameisjulz. _You can find out when my stories are updated, when I upload new stories and little random tidbits of my life that I think are worthy enough of tweeting =) Okay, I'm done._

_Thanks for the support! I really appreciate it!  
_


	10. Kairi

**Kairi.**

"Hm, interesting," Ansem's voice was low, like he was talking to himself, "So Kairi, in a sense, was seen as the 'favourite' daughter in the family, assuming from Naminé's descriptions."

"It seems like it," Roxas frowned, ruffling his hair, "She kept saying how _they_ loved her and stuff, which made me assume that she was talking about their parents. She also told me how they used to call her Princess - when she told me I was reminded of a drawing she made me sometime ago; Naminé said that when she was a kid she liked to pretend she was a princess. Maybe it has to do with how Kairi got most of the attention?"

"It makes sense - a neglected child often has nothing else but their own imagination to keep them company," The older man replied sadly; in the background Xemnas and Xehanort were busily making notes, "That must mean that even before the police found her in the streets Naminé might have never been stable to begin with." He tutted pitifully and shook his sleek blond head. "I would've imagined her childhood to be an unhappy one."

"But she said that her sister was her only friend," The blond boy explained, "So she couldn't have any feelings of animosity towards her."

"That is true - maybe that only adds to Kairi's so-called 'perfection'-" Ansem made mock quotation marks with his fingers, "-she was probably aware she was getting all of the attention from her parents so she must've cared for her sister very much."

"I think Naminé cares for her too - she seemed uncertain while she was explaining everything, like she was worried about her or something." Roxas sighed and reached for his hair again. "Something really bad must've happened to them on that night - the way she drew her parents...maybe something happened between them? A fight?"

The head psychiatrist nodded. "That might've been the case, but it still doesn't explain why her parents and her sister are nowhere to be found." He let out a long sigh. "I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to interrogate her further, Roxas. It will be hard for her to relive these painful memories, but it is necessary for her recovery - you can't solve the problem by avoiding it."

"I know," The boy nodded as he rose from his seat, "I'll try my best, Ansem."

Roxas was quiet on the drive home; he gave his mother a half-hearted greeting before dragging himself up the stairs to his room. He glanced around the walls, eyeing the different drawings Naminé had made for him over the past month and a half he had known her; his eyes stopped on the one hanging over his bed and something tugged painfully at his heartstrings.

"Princess…" He murmured to himself as he crawled on top of the mattress; his fingers grazed the paper, feeling the wax of the crayon sticking to his skin. He tried imagining how Naminé's childhood could have been, but it was far too painful. He didn't know what it was like to be ignored or neglected by his parents; his mother had been there his entire life and even after the divorce his father made the best attempts to be there for him as much as possible. He was cared for and appreciated, unlike Naminé. How could her parents do such a thing? He was sure Naminé was a capable student; she seemed like the type who would do well in school. He couldn't find any faults in her; what did Kairi have that Naminé didn't?

"Hey, loverboy," He turned around to find his brother leaning against the doorframe with his arms crossed over his chest, "What the heck are you doing? You look like you're in some kind of trance."

"Maybe he's possessed by one of his patients' alternate personalities." Xion snickered; she moved to the side from behind Sora so she could be seen. She absently brushed her bangs out of her eyes as she moved into her blond brother's room to sit by the desk. "So how was the little sleepover on the weekend?"

"Hey, it was necessary," Roxas countered as his siblings giggled in unison, "Naminé needed my help-"

"Yeah, I know," Sora frowned, much to his surprise, "What happened to her was kinda scary."

"Ugh, I don't know how I would react if I saw what you did." Xion made a face and stuck her tongue out in mock disgust.

Roxas raised an eyebrow. "I told you?"

Both of his siblings gave him blunt looks. "Yes, Roxas, you did. How can you not remember?" The brunet shook his head, "The moment you came home you explained what happened, and then you crashed in your room."

"But then when you woke up you complained again," Xion added, "You said you still felt tired and when you were in the psych ward you slept just fine." She stifled a giggle. "I wonder why that's so?"

The blond groaned and slumped against the wall. "Wow, I don't remember that at all - this is when I know I _really_ need sleep."

"So why is it that you can sleep properly at the psych ward - in Naminé's _bed_ with Naminé _in_ it, to be more specific - but when you're at home you can't?" Sora asked slyly; in the background their dark-haired sister was giggling again, "Is there something _else_ that you're not telling us, Roxas?"

"Wait a minute," The blond raised an eyebrow, "I told you about that too? What the hell - I would've _definitely _remembered that!"

"Well, you don't, so too bad," Xion smirked, "Now c'mon, tell us - why's Naminé making such a positive influence on your life? As your siblings we have the _right_ to know every little detail!"

"It's not what you think, you perverts," Roxas growled as his brother and sister laughed hysterically, "She just wanted me to be there, so that's what I did! It just so happens that I woke up the next morning feeling like I actually _did_ go to sleep the night before; I don't know why, but that's just how it happened!"

"How cute - she's your cure," Sora sneered, "The solution to everything that's been bugging you lately. The light through the darkness - the sun to your earth! She's slowly but surely becoming everything that's ever mattered to you," He scoffed, "Soon you're just gonna forget about us and focus on her and her alone. Not even your new friends will matter to you anymore."

"What? No - how can I forget about you guys? I freaking live with you!" Roxas shook his head, "And Axel and Demyx and Larxene - I can't forget them either! They're my friends!"

"What about Olette and them? You haven't hung out with them _once_ since you started your volunteer thing!" Sora countered, "I bet you've never even given them one second of a thought!"

"Sora," Xion chided, "Quit acting like a jealous girlfriend."

"Yeah, Sora," Roxas agreed, though at the back of his head he knew he was going to feel guilty over the whole neglecting-Hayner-Pence-and-Olette-thing later, "What's gotten into you?"

The brunet sighed and ran his hands through his spiky hair. "Sorry, bro - it's just that you seem so tied up with this whole Naminé thing...you never spend time with me and Xion anymore."

"Aw, Sora," Xion stood up and patted her brother's shoulder, "Don't be discouraged; Roxas needs to squeeze in as many hours as he can so he can graduate at the end of the year."

"Yeah," The blond added, "It'll only be for another month, bro, and then I'll be free. Just think about all the things we _have _to do this summer - trips to the beach, soccer games, hanging out with Hayner and everyone…"

Sora looked a little uncertain, but he smiled anyway. "Yeah, I'll be looking forward to that."

Later that night, after Roxas' siblings finally decided to leave him alone, he found himself examining Naminé's drawings again. He tried to look for clues in the crayon lines and curves; maybe there was a hint of her sister in there somewhere…

There was a drawing that was partially hidden behind the acoustic guitar resting against the wall; it was almost an exact replica of the bloody mural on the wall. There was the house, the sad mother, the angry father and the two girls. One girl had red hair, and she was smiling like nothing suspicious was going on. Her slightly smaller, blonde sister wasn't smiling - in fact her face wasn't showing much expression at all. It was hard to tell if she was sad or just bored. Roxas raised an eyebrow at the peculiar drawing; why didn't he notice this before? He gently untacked the paper off the wall and stuffed it into his bag; he was going to show this to Ansem tomorrow after school.

He woke up exhausted and frustrated as usual the morning after, and school dragged on by like always. He nearly dozed off behind the wheel as he drove home to drop off his brother and sister.

"Hey bro," Sora's voice caused him to open his eyes and he turned around to see the brunet peering at him from the other side of the passenger seat window, "Are you free Thursday evening - after you finished your volunteer hours I mean."

"Uh, yeah, I think so. Why?"

"We should hang out with Hayner and them since you haven't seen anyone in so long," Xion explained, "Maybe we'll watch a movie or something."

Roxas nodded eagerly. "That sounds like a great idea - when you've got all the plans set in stone tell me the details and I'll be there."

Sora gave him the thumbs-up. "Alright. Have fun."

"Say hi to Naminé for me." Xion smirked, and Roxas rolled his eyes as he backed out of the driveway.

When the blond stepped into the lounge around half an hour later he spotted his friends sitting at the usual table near the back of the room; Naminé was there, doodling on another piece of paper. He remembered Ansem's words, and he sucked in a breath as he moved towards them.

"Heya, Mister Volunteer," Axel greeted him with his usual smirk as the boy sat beside the busy artist, "What's up?"

"Nothing," Roxas shrugged as his eyes drifted over to Naminé's paper; she was drawing a blonde girl and a redheaded girl holding hands, "At least nothing worth mentioning."

"Still having trouble sleeping?" Demyx asked curiously; beside him Larxene was haughtily staring at her nails.

"Yeah - I haven't gotten a proper nights' sleep since I slept here," Roxas' cheeks reddened as the musician, the pyromaniac and the sadist suppressed their giggles, "Though I don't understand why out of all places a _psych ward_ helps me sleep rather than my own bed."

"It might not have to do with the place," Larxene simpered, "It's probably the people you're with - or should I say, _person."_

Roxas bit the inside of his cheek to prevent himself from lashing out as his friends howled with laughter; beside him Naminé continued her drawing as if nothing was going on. Giving up on the older three the blond turned his back on them and decided to pay attention to the blonde artist. "What are you drawing, Naminé?"

"My sister and I," She replied in her usual soft voice, "She was my best friend - my only friend, actually…"

Axel immediately stopped laughing; Roxas glanced over his shoulder and exchanged knowing looks with him. "Your only friend?" The blond quirked an eyebrow, "What do you mean?"

The smallest blonde dropped her crayon and brushed a few strands of hair away from her eyes. "I never really was good at talking to people," She admitted coyly, "But Kairi was really popular at school; she had a lot of friends and was always in those after-school clubs and things. They always said that she was going to do well, and they were never proved wrong."

"They? Who's _they?"_

"Our parents," Naminé mumbled, and her eyes lowered to her hands, "They...they always said that they were proud of her, and that...t-that she was perfect - their perfect little princess, and they were absolutely right; Kairi _was_ perfect, and she _was_ a princess. I could only pretend I was one in my drawings."

Now Demyx had stopped laughing; Roxas could feel his and the pyromaniac's eyes on his back. "But your parents...they loved you too, didn't they? They must've loved you - you're their daughter too."

His heart stung when he caught the glint of a tear trickling down the small blonde's pallid cheek. "K-Kairi said they loved me. Kairi said it may not look like it, but they really did care for me. She...she said it wasn't fair they were giving her all the attention - she wanted me to have some of it too." She reached upwards to wipe her tears away. "My sister was the only one who loved me - she was the only one who cared, who knew I existed." She sniffled and more tears came running down her face. "W-when it happened I ran away, just like she told me to - I ran all the way...I ran so f-fast I lost my sandals, but I couldn't break my promise to her; I had to keep running. I kept running and running, and even though I was tired and everything hurt I had to keep running. She told me to run away."

Roxas' brow scrunched in confusion; he could hear Axel and Demyx's chairs scooting closer towards the table, and even Larxene fell silent to listen to their conversation. "When _what_ happened, Naminé? What are you talking about?"

The smallest blonde's shoulders began to tremble, and when Roxas reached out to her she shrunk away. "I-I didn't want to go, I didn't want to leave her; she was...she was always there for me when I n-needed her, and I wanted to return the favour b-but she told me to run...run, run away, so I did. She made me promise h-her I'd g-get somewhere...safe…" She choked on a sob and buried her face in her hands, "I didn't want to leave her...why did I leave her? _Why?!"_ She was shaking violently now; so violently, in fact that her chair was shaking too, "I should've...I-I should've stayed, I should've b-broken my promise, but I didn't - I didn't w-want to disappoint her, I-I didn't want-" She shook her head and stopped herself as she cried harder into her hands.

"Naminé…" The blond boy could feel the corners of his eyes stinging as the guilt inside of him pushed farther and farther up his chest; he reached out to her again and she leaned into his embrace, wrapping her thin arms around his neck and pressing her face against his collarbone. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-"

"I-it," She stuttered against his shirt, "It sh-should've been, should've been-"

"What is she saying?" Axel asked frantically; Roxas glanced behind his shoulder and shrugged, and the redhead cursed under his breath. "God, this is bad."

"Maybe we should get the nurses." Demyx suggested; his voice was a few octaves higher than usual.

"Ah, let her cry it out," Larxene shrugged, "It's better than getting all doped up and forgetting about it for a few hours."

"What are you trying to say, Naminé?" Roxas asked gently, "It should've been what?" She was convulsing aggressively and he had to tighten his arms around her to keep her in place.

"H-he-" She hiccuped and grabbed onto the front of his shirt with one tiny fist, "-he...hurt...t-the...w-wrong one." She hiccuped again and shook her head as Roxas' eyes widened in shock. "They were fighting, fighting like always, but this time it was louder...l-louder than usual. You could h-hear it from outside." She sniffled and pressed her cheek against his chest, and his arms around her tightened by just a fraction. "There was bl-blood...blood everywhere. Her blood. H-her blood-" Naminé shuddered and Roxas comfortingly nuzzled his head against hers. "-it was e-everywhere; I g-got some on my clothes, my hair, m-my hands." Her voice was growing higher with hysteria. "Kairi...Kairi told me to g-get out. She...she said to go s-someplace safe. _'I'll take care of this, Nami, don't worry._' That's what she s-said to me. _'Run away, Nami, get out of here - Daddy won't hurt you if you're...y-you're not here.'"_ A fresh round of tears escaped her big blue eyes and she hiccuped a third time. "It...it should've been me. I s-should've told Kairi to leave. I-I should've told Kairi to go someplace...s-someplace safe. He hurt the wrong one. H-he hurt the wrong one..."

Roxas swallowed hard and slowly glanced upwards; Axel and Demyx were just as shocked as he was. Larxene didn't look so phased, but she did look a little worried.

"I s-saw it…" Naminé continued, "Saw it h-happen. Peeked in t-through the window but I made sure I couldn't be s-seen. Blood...there was b-blood everywhere. Threw her against a w-wall. Knocked her out c-cold. Broke a t-table leg. Bash it o-over her head. Smash the skull in. Scatter her brains against the wall. So, so much blood-"

Her descriptions were painting a very disturbing image in everyone's heads; Axel, Demyx and even Larxene were wincing uncomfortably as the small blonde carried on with her graphic explanation as if she was telling them a bedtime story.

"C'mon," Roxas finally stood up, bringing her with him, "I'll take you to your room. You need some rest."

She shrunk against him and nodded against his shirt. "He couldn't control himself; Daddy didn't know what he was doing," She continued to mumble to herself as they walked through the confusing hallways, "He couldn't stop. He didn't know it was Princess. He didn't know it was the right kid, the perfect kid, the kid who didn't deserve it. Daddy couldn't control himself."

Axel, who decided to tag along, rubbed the back of his fiery mane. "Gee, I really don't know what to make of this."

"And you think I do?" The threesome entered Naminé's white room and the boys helped the trembling girl into her bed. She was still uttering the same words when Roxas pulled the covers up to her chin. She was still shaking and muttering under her breath; he frowned and raised a quivering hand to run his fingers through his hair. "Maybe we should get the nurses - it looks like she won't be able to sleep without some help."

"Yeah, it looks like it's the only way, though I think you should stay with her. I'll go get them." Axel frowned. He bent over the smallest blonde and comfortingly patted her head. "Get well soon, Naminé." He murmured before shuffling out of the room.

Roxas forced the painful lump down his throat as he moved to sit on the edge of the bed. Naminé's eyes were distractedly wandering around the room, and her voice was so low it was almost hard to believe it was coming from her.

He knew he was never going to be able to forget this.

"Daddy didn't know, Daddy didn't know, Daddy didn't know…"


	11. Remember

**Remember.**

It was dark and gloomy; the pitter-patter of rain pelted dully against the roof...the roof of what?

There were windows. Windows to his left, windows to his right, windows behind him, windows in front. The glass was dotted with rain; when he tried to peer outside there was nothing but murky darkness.

Two lights in the distance captured his attention; he swerved around in his seat and noticed they were getting bigger. Closer. There was a point where he was so close to the twin lights that he was afraid he'd be engulfed by them.

Screaming. Someone, no - more than one person. It sounded a little high-pitched for an adult - a child? Children were screaming. The lights were getting bigger-

"Whoa!" Roxas woke up with a start; bolting straight out of bed with his eyes flashing lividly and his body drenched in sweat. His shirt was sticking to his skin and he pulled it off in frustration. He swung his legs over the mattress to sit on the edge of his bed, and he rested his elbows on his thighs and leaned his head into his palms, frustratingly running his fingers through his sweat-matted hair. His body was aching and heavy from exhaustion, and his eyes burned for some reason.

This was the fifth time he had that dream in the past week, and each time he had it he only grew more and more confused. What the heck was his brain trying to tell him? He was shaking his head the entire way to the bathroom; he took a quick shower and dressed into some fresh clothes before rushing down to the kitchen for some breakfast.

"Hey," Sora greeted his brother; he was sitting at the table with Xion, "Sleep at all?"

"Of course not," Roxas shook his head, "But I had that weird dream again so maybe I was, but I'm still tired-" He groaned as he forced himself into a chair, "-I don't even know anymore; I'm so confused."

"You really need to get this stuff checked out," Xion suggested, "It's not normal."

"Are you implying that I should get checked into the psych ward?" Roxas' voice was edgy, and his sister's eyes widened.

"No, no! Geez, I don't think you're crazy or anything - I just think that you need some help, that's all. Maybe some sleeping medication will help."

"It might help me to sleep but it won't help me figure out what this stupid dream means," The blond grumbled as he reached for the milk, "It's been bothering me for awhile now - all I can see are these two lights coming in my direction, and then the second before I wake up I hear people screaming. Do any of you have any idea what this means?"

"No," Sora raised an eyebrow, "But I agree with Xion - get it checked out."

"I don't need to get it checked out," Roxas muttered stubbornly, "I just...I just need sleep."

Xion and Sora exchanged looks of concern. "Whatever you say." The raven-haired girl sighed.

As always school dragged on, and Roxas drove his siblings home before heading over to the psych ward for his volunteer work.

"Hey," Sora placed his hand on the door but did not close it yet, "Don't forget about tomorrow - movies, eight o'clock!"

"Yeah, yeah," Roxas waved his hand distractedly, "I remember."

"See you later, Roxas." Xion waved as he shifted gears.

As he drove all he could think about were those strange twin lights; he was so indulged in his thoughts that he almost ran through three red lights and a stop sign.

"What's bothering you now?" Axel smirked as Roxas moved to sit in between him and the musician; Naminé wasn't at her usual seat today, but that was to be expected.

"I had that same dream again - y'know, the one with the lights," The blond shook his head and leaned forward to rest his arms on the desk, "I'm getting this lingering feeling that everything's slowly starting to _not_ make sense anymore."

"We get that a lot around here." Larxene simpered, and Axel and Demyx chuckled in unison.

"Are you sure you don't wanna tell Ansem about it? He might be able to help, y'know." The musician suggested, but Roxas shook his head.

"He's just gonna keep telling me the same thing - it's stress, or whatever." He ruffled his hair and sighed. "There's more important things to worry about right now, anyway - Naminé, for instance. I still have to tell Ansem about what happened yesterday."

"I heard she's still kinda catatonic," The pyromaniac explained concernedly, "She won't stop saying those same words over and over again, and she hasn't slept yet - they've been trying to inject her with that sleeping stuff but she's moving around too much, even with the restraints on."

_"Daddy didn't know,"_ Roxas repeated her cryptic words from yesterday and shook his head, "What could she mean by that?"

"Her old man's got some kind of problem, obviously," Larxene rolled her eyes, "So I'm guessing this Kairi chick is dead."

"Yeah," Demyx agreed, but he was frowning at the same time, "And judging from the picture Naminé painted their family wasn't a very happy one."

"She said something about her parents fighting when her and Kairi got home from school," Axel added, "And something about how there was someone's blood everywhere - _her_ blood." He frowned and scratched his head. "I think the fight went too far and their dad ended up killing their mom."

"Yeah, that's what I thought too," Roxas' frown deepened, "And obviously anyone would be traumatized from seeing their mom getting beaten to death by their dad."

"Kairi probably wanted to try and calm their father down," The musician pointed out, "But she knew there was a possibility of getting seriously hurt or even killed, so for her safety she told Naminé to leave."

The blonde sadist scoffed. "So what you're trying to say is that their dad has some kind of anger management problem, and that it had gotten so bad he couldn't control himself and ended up killing both their mom _and_ Kairi without even realizing it?"

The youngest blond shrugged. "It kinda makes sense, doesn't it?"

"So Naminé did what her sister told her to do and left the house, but she peeked in through the window and witnessed their dad kill Kairi. I guess after that she finally left the house to make a run for it." Demyx scratched his head in confusion. "She had to be running for a very long time to lose her sandals, but what could've caused her to be covered in dirt?"

Axel leaned back in his chair and placed his hands behind his head. "Easy -she must've gotten scuffed up from all that running, and c'mon - if you saw your raging, uncontrollable dad beating your mom and sister to death would _you_ be able to concentrate?"

"Of course not," The musician frowned, "And I guess there's the possibility she feels guilty for the death of her sister, her only friend - the only person who cared for her at the time. Add that on top of the fact she witnessed the deaths of her mom and sister by the hands of her dad and we've practically solved the mystery as to why she is the way she is."

Larxene let out a low whistle. "Talk about your inner demons."

The youngest in the group swallowed hard and brushed his fingers through his messy blond spikes. "So she remembered after all this time...she just chose not to say anything about it."

"Of course she wouldn't want to say anything about it," The pyromaniac countered, "All these years of being neglected and not cared for properly, and then watching your dad kill your mom and sister - it's enough to drive anyone insane."

"What a sad story." Demyx shook his head dismally.

"Roxas?" A deep voice erupted from the door; Xehanort was standing by the doorframe, "Ansem would like to have a few words with you in his office."

"Oh-" The boy stood up and dusted off his jeans. He turned towards his friends. "-uh, I guess I'll see you guys later." He jogged towards the door and followed the doctor down the many hallways. "Er, do you know why Ansem wants to see me?"

"I'm pretty sure you know why," Xehanort smirked, "What other reason is there?" They stopped in front of the usual dark-wooded door and gestured towards it. "He's right inside."

"Ah, Roxas," Ansem greeted him kindly once he stepped inside, "I've been anxious to see you."

"So have I, now that I think about it," The blond fidgeted in his chair, "So I guess you heard about what happened yesterday?"

"I did, actually," Ansem frowned, "And though it was very informative I can't say it was uplifting."

"I know what you mean." Roxas sighed and rumpled his hair. "So what are we gonna do now that the mystery's practically solved?"

"It's not entirely solved, Roxas," The older man reminded him, "Remember, we still have no idea where her father is, or if he's even alive. It's possible he could've had a mental condition of his own, but we're not sure of that yet. We don't even know much about their family history besides the fact their parents had a rocky marriage and they neglected one of their daughters while favouring the other. We need more information."

"But I don't want to keep prying Naminé," The blond boy frowned, "I feel like I'm hurting her with every new bit of information that she gives me, and I can't stand to see her in so much pain. We already know why she is the way she is - why can't we just leave it at that and focus on her recovery?"

"Because the problem won't be solved until _all_ of the stones are overturned, and the police would want to know the fate of her sister and mother and the whereabouts of her father." Ansem insisted, "I know it's hard, Roxas, but it is also necessary."

"It was, but it isn't anymore." The blond muttered through gritted teeth; his hands were clenching the armrests of the chair so tightly his knuckles were whitening and the tendons were strained against his skin. "Why can't you see past all the statistics, patient profiles and medicine bottles and realize Naminé is an actual _person_ with thoughts and feelings, and not just an interesting puzzle you're rushing to piece together?"

"Roxas, I understand how frustrated you must feel right now but I'm telling you there's no other way - Naminé is our only source of information, the only key we have to ensure that she makes a full recovery. If further interrogation is needed, then it will be done."

"Then count me out of it," The boy spat as he abruptly stood up from his seat, "I'm sick of hurting her for you."

"Roxas, wait-" But he was already halfway down the hallway, storming past Zexion's desk and out into the parking lot. He jabbed his key into the ignition and started the engine; as he pulled out of the space he could feel the dull throb of a headache thumping at the back of his head, and he groaned and paused for a minute to rub his temples. When he closed his eyes he saw the faintest glimpse of two bright lights, and he twitched; he opened his eyes and shook his head frantically before driving out of the parking lot.

As he drove home the image of the flashing twin lights would blink in and out of his vision, distracting him from the road. He was a little wary of driving on the freeway when he kept having these random hallucinations, but he managed to make it home safe. By the time he stumbled out of his car and onto his driveway the lights were flashing at a faster rate; he could hardly see the small path leading to his front door.

"Roxas? You're home already, honey?" He could faintly hear his mother's voice calling out to him as he tumbled into the main foyer. "Are you alright?"

"Ngh - yeah," He managed to utter, "I...I just have a real bad headache."

"You better get some rest then." He forced out a tired 'okay' and made way for the stairs; the lights and the blackness was slowly taking over his vision, and he feared he was going the wrong way.

When he reached the second floor he could hear screaming, the same screaming from his odd dreams. Roxas grunted in pain as he barreled into his room, collapsing on the floor in a heap and crawling towards his bed. Sweat trickled down his temples and he could feel the pinpoint pain stabbing the back of his head and eyes as he forced his heavy body onto the mattress, grunting again as he shifted his weight on his arms. Where was Sora and Xion when he needed them?

He pressed his flaming cheek against the cool fabric of his pillow, and in an instant the pain began to ebb away. The screaming died down, and his heart rate slowed to a normal pace. He sighed into the sheets and blacked out for the rest of the evening.

When Roxas woke the next morning he felt like he was in the wrong place, even though he was sitting on his bed, in his room. He still felt disorientated after he showered and changed, and he was oddly quiet on the drive to school. Sora and Xion tried talking to him but he rarely spoke, and when he did he would always give them one-word answers.

"You better not be like this later tonight when we go to the movies," Xion raised an eyebrow when he dropped them home after school, "You know we're counting on you to be there!"

"Y-yeah," The blond muttered distractedly, "Don't worry, I'll be there. I promised I would."

"That's the most I've ever heard you speak today," Sora smirked, "Well, I guess we'll see you later tonight - don't forget to call!"

"Later." Roxas groaned and shook his head before reversing out of the driveway. The strange, unattached feeling had been hovering over him the entire day and he didn't know why he was feeling like this in the first place. He felt like the hands holding the steering wheel weren't his; he felt like the thoughts running through his head were somebody else's. Ironically enough he felt like he was still dreaming.

The moment the blond walked into the front foyer of the mental hospital Axel burst out of a random room and quickly made his way over to him. "Thank God you're here."

Roxas' eyes widened. "What happened to her?"

"She was sleeping, apparently," Axel explained hurriedly as they rushed down the different hallways, "Then she started talking again. She was thrashing around so much they had to restrain her - she was having some sort of nightmare."

"Did they sedate her?"

"No - she's moving around too much for them to put the needle in, and she obviously won't swallow anything. A bunch of people are in her room right now trying to calm her down, but nothing's working."

It looked like he was going to have to ditch his siblings tonight - Sora wasn't going to be very happy. "Ugh, why do I have the feeling that this is my fault?"

"How the hell is it your fault? You weren't the one that attacked and killed her sister." After riding the elevator up a couple floors they ran down another hallway; Naminé's frenzied screaming could be heard from the opposite side, and it chilled Roxas to the bone.

"Roxas-" Ansem sighed in relief once the blond and the redhead reached the doorway to Naminé's room, "-please, you need to calm her down-"

"I'm on it." The boy pushed past the pyromaniac and the psychiatrist and found a few nurses pinning Naminé's legs and arms down to the bed; the poor blonde was writhing uncomfortably underneath them and her terrified eyes were glistening with tears.

"L-let me go-" She shrieked, "Get away from me - let me out!" She grunted and strained her neck; the veins were popping out against the flushed skin, "Kairi, K-Kairi - where's Kairi - l-let go of me, please! I have to get out of here, she said I have to go someplace safe-"

"Naminé," Roxas finally approached her bedside and hesitantly reached for her; when she twitched violently he immediately drew his hand back, "Naminé, look at me - it's me, Roxas-"

"G-get away! All of you," The blonde growled, "Get away from her...get a-away from my sister! Don't...don't hurt her…"

The boy gulped and reached for her again, pressing his palm against her forehead. "Kairi's not here, Naminé. It's just me, Roxas. You know who I am, right?"

The girl's eyes grew wide with fear. "K-Kairi? Where is she? Why isn't she here? She's here, she's here - you're lying! I know you are!" With an incredible burst of strength she managed to leap away from the nurses, springing on top of Roxas and sending him to the cold linoleum floor. He gasped in shock as her small hands reached towards his neck. "Tell me - where's my sister? Tell me where she is! I know you know!"

"Naminé!" Axel exclaimed, "What the hell are you doing? That's Roxas you're trying to kill!"

"N-Naminé," Roxas choked; he tried to pry her hands off of his neck but the strength channeling from her small body was surprisingly difficult to diffuse and he was still weak from lack of sleep. Axel, Ansem and the nurses grabbed the girl's shoulders and tried to pull her off of him but it was no use, "I-I don't...d-don't know where your sister i-is - p-please-"

"Let go, Naminé," Ansem instructed sternly, "You're going to kill him if you go on like this."

_"Liar!"_ Her voice was shrill, "Y-you...you're lying!" Her head glanced around the room, giving Roxas, Axel, Ansem and each of the nurses a nasty glare, "Don't you dare lie to me! I know you know where my sister is!" Her eyes narrowed and she tightened her hands around the blond boy's neck, cutting off his air supply, "Y-you know where Kairi is, you know...the wrong one...the wrong one died…it should've been me, it should've been me..."

She was alternating between moods now; she shifted in between angry and revengeful to grieving and regretful. With a combined effort from Axel, Ansem and the nurses Roxas managed to push Naminé off of him; he coughed violently as he forced the air back into his system.

The small blonde girl stopped shouting and crumpled into Axel's arms. She was heaving and sweating uncontrollably. "He...he killed the wrong one…" She was mumbling the same words as she began to cry again, "I-it should've been me, it should've been me..."

Axel carried her over to the bed and laid her down gently, pushing the sweaty bangs away from her glazed eyes. "It's okay, Naminé, shh…"

"Needle, _now."_ Ansem ordered, and a nurse pressed a clear syringe into his palm. He pushed the tip into the girl's arm and sighed when he noticed her pale blue eyes fluttering to a close. When she was fast asleep he relaxed his shoulders and disposed of the syringe. He turned towards Roxas, who was still trying to catch his breath. "Are you alright?"

"Y-yeah," He approached the bedside and sat on the edge, reaching for Naminé's hand and lacing their fingers together, "I'll be alright."

"You're not going to stay here, are you?" Axel raised an eyebrow, "She tried to _kill_ you, Roxas! There's no telling what she'll think of you when she wakes up!"

"He's right, Roxas," Ansem agreed, "It's best you leave."

"No," The boy's eyes narrowed, "I'm not going anywhere."

"This isn't advisable, Roxas," The older blond's voice hardened, "But I'm not going to force you. Just be sure to inform your mother that you'll be staying for the night." He sighed and shook his head before leaving the room.

"Heh, you really like this girl don't you?" Axel smirked and crossed his arms as the younger boy blushed a violent red, "I mean, she tried to strangle you to death and now look - you're still holding her hand! Talk about tough love."

"She needs me, Axel - I'm not going to leave her when she's having episodes like these," The blond shook his head, "I don't think the best way to treat a schizophrenic attack is to just stab them with a needle and wait 'till they're knocked out; what I _really_ think they need is just someone to talk to." He sighed and squeezed the unconscious girl's hand. "If I only knew her when she still went to my school." He let go of her hand and reached into his pocket for his phone. "I need to call my mom and my brother - can you stay here for a bit?"

The redhead nodded and took his place; Roxas stood outside the door and dialed his home number. He was relieved when his mother said she was okay with it, just as long as he returned home the next morning. Now for the hard part - calling Sora.

He gulped as he held the phone to his ear; his heartbeat thudded loudly as he listened to the dial tone. It rang once, twice...seven times…

Odd - he wasn't picking up. He decided to try Xion's phone. After nine rings he concluded she wasn't picking up either. He frowned and stared at the blinking screen for a minute before pocketing his phone; maybe they were too angry with him...wait, wouldn't that make things even worse when he came home tomorrow morning?

"Ugh," He moaned to no one in particular as he walked back into Naminé's room. He gave Axel a thankful pat on the shoulder, "I can take over from here - you go get some rest."

"Nah," The pyromaniac smirked and moved to sit against the wall, "I think I'll join in on this little slumber party, if you don't mind."

"Won't the nurses get mad?"

"Psh, like they're gonna do anything to a guy like me, and what if Naminé suddenly wakes up and tries to kill you again?"

"Point taken," Roxas climbed into bed beside the sleeping girl and hesitantly wrapped one arm around her waist; to his relief she sighed against him and rolled on her side so she could hug him back, "She's acting like herself already." He smiled down at her, and he heard Axel snickering in the background.

"Only you, Roxas. Only you."

He didn't remember exactly when he fell asleep, but he knew it happened for sure because the last thing he remembered was the shampoo-scent of Naminé's hair, the sound of her even breathing and the warmth of her body against his.

"Roxas." The voice was faint and familiar, but he assumed he was dreaming so he decided to ignore it.

"Roxas." The voice called again.

_"Roxas!"_

"Huh..." The blond woke up with a start, careful not to move too much in case he woke Naminé. He rubbed his eyes and squinted through the darkness; he caught a silhouette by the doorway...a silhouette with uncontrollably spiky hair. "S-Sora?" Roxas spluttered incredulously, "What...what are you doing here? How did you even - did you take Mom's car?"

His brother ignored his questions and stalked into the room, flicked the light switch on and menacingly approached the bed; his eyes were burning with hatred and his hands were clenched into tight fists by his sides, "So you're back here again, huh? Back with your _Naminé-"_ He scoffed at the blonde on the bed before glancing over at the sleeping redhead slumped against the wall, "-and your other friends? People who are more important to you than your own family?"

"Sora, you're taking this too seriously," Roxas growled as he gently unwound his arms from around Naminé to stand up, "Didn't Xion explain to you how I _need_ to finish up these hours to graduate? I don't exactly have a lot of time left and I need to put in as many hours as I can so I can get them done faster-"

"Both you and I know very well that even when you're finished with your stupid hours you'll be coming back anyway!" Sora yelled, "You've grown so attached to these...these _freaks_-"

"Don't call them that!" Roxas hissed; he grabbed his brother by the front of the shirt and dragged him out of the room, closing the door behind him. "What the hell's gotten into you lately, Sora? You're acting so...so clingy!"

"It's not my fault you decided to run off and become friends with people who are out of their minds!" The brunet snapped, "When are you gonna come back, Roxas?" His voice faltered and his eyes softened, and Roxas felt guilt pushing against his ribcage, "When are you gonna come back to reality? When are you going to remember?"

The guilt vanished with his brother's second-last sentence. _"Reality?"_ Roxas let a dry laugh escape his lips, "You're acting as if Naminé and the others don't exist! Well, Sora, sorry to break it to you but they _do,_ and what's most important to me right now is that Naminé needs me to stay with her in order to recover-"

It was Sora's turn to laugh sarcastically. "I _knew_ Naminé was behind all of this - leave it to a girl to take your own brother away from you!" He shook his head in disappointed. "You really don't remember anything at all, do you?"

Roxas rolled his eyes. "Sora, you're acting stupid. Can you please just go home and we'll solve this later? This isn't exactly the bes-"

He was interrupted by a fist to the jaw; Sora punched him, and he punched him _hard._ The blond was sent stumbling back into Naminé's room with stars flickering in and out of his eyes. Sora stormed inside with his fist wound back, ready for another punch.

"W-what the hell, Sora-" Roxas scrambled back onto his feet; without even thinking he charged forward, grabbing his brother by the waist and ramming him into the wall. The loud crashing noise caused the two sleeping patients to wake up; Naminé bolted upwards from bed and Axel jerked awake.

"What...what the-" The pyromaniac rubbed his eyes and blinked rapidly at the fighting brothers, "-Roxas, what's going on-"

"C-can you give me a hand?" He had his brother pinned against the wall, "My brother's being a jackass!"

"L-let go of me-" Sora knocked his fist into the blond's face, hitting him square in the nose. Roxas stumbled back again; blood was trickling down his nostrils.

"Dammit-" He swung his fist into the brunet's cheek and the fight resumed; Sora kneed his brother in the gut and the blond doubled over, giving him the chance to grab his spiky blond hair. "Ow, Sora, what the hell-" Roxas struggled as the brunet dragged him towards the doorway. He reached upwards to pry his brother's hands away from his hair but whenever he got too close Sora jerked around a little, pulling at his blond spikes and it would be so painful Roxas would have to drop his hands.

"Roxas?" Naminé was clutching the sheets to her chest; her eyes were wide with fear.

"Stop it - you're s-scaring her-" Roxas grimaced, but Sora didn't listen.

"If you're so desperate to stay in a hospital I'll be _glad_ to assist you!" He pulled the blond out of the room, down the hall and over to the staircase.

"No!" Roxas heard Axel shout before Sora wound back and tossed his brother down the stairs. He rolled down the hard steps, grunting and groaning as he felt his bones collide with the metal and linoleum. He landed on the floor with a sickening thud; he was probably sporting a few bruises, but luckily his bones still felt intact. He heard the other residents on the floor coming out of their rooms to see what was going on, and he cursed under his breath.

"Roxas!" He heard Naminé shout just as Sora's footsteps came thudding down the stairs; he felt his brother's hand on his hair again and he lifted him up to throw him against the wall.

"S-Sora-" Roxas spluttered; the blood running down his nose was staining his shirt, "Why are you d-doing this-"

His brother slapped him with the back of his hand; the blond's head twisted to the side from the impact. "Shut up."

"This isn't funny…" Axel muttered from the floor above as Sora grabbed the blond by the scruff of the neck and proceeded to drag him down a few more flights of stairs. Through his blurred vision Roxas could see the white-clad bodies of patients staring at him as he was hauled further and further away from them; he tried to search for a mane of red hair or a small blonde girl but everything was so distorted…

After what seemed like forever Sora opened the main doors and Roxas felt the rush of cool night air sweeping over his injured body; the concrete scraped him through his clothes and he cringed in pain.

"Sora!" A female voice shouted; Roxas knew who it was - Xion. "What the hell are you doing?!"

"I'm doing what you told me to do," He heard his brunet brother reply nonchalantly, "I'm bringing him home."

"You didn't have to beat him to a pulp!"

"Just unlock the freaking car."

Roxas attempted to reach upwards again. "X-Xion…" He croaked, but his pleas were cut short when Sora punched him again. He spat out blood and glared up at his brother. "W-what the hell are you doing-"

"Shut up!" He pulled the passenger seat open and tossed Roxas inside.

"Roxas-" He felt Xion's small hand on his cheek, "-are you okay?"

"Ngh…" He groaned, "I-I've had better days-"

"Get in the back, Xion." He heard Sora slam the door to the driver's seat shut.

"Why are you being so difficult, Sora?" Their sister cried, "Don't you understand - he _needs_ to be here! Naminé and the others need his help - he's their only friend!"

"You don't get it either, do you?" The brunet spat, "Don't tell me _you're_ starting to forget too! How can you, anyway?"

"W-what are you talking about?" Roxas asked; he tried turning his head to face his brother but his neck was too sore from his tumble down the stairs.

"Didn't I tell you to shut up?" Sora leaned over to open the glove compartment; he began to rifle through the things in there, and Roxas squinted through the gloominess to see what he was looking for.

"Sora, you really have to stop," Xion's voice was begging now, "You're going too far - SORA, NO!"

The brunet whipped around so quickly Roxas didn't have time to register what he was holding in his hand; whatever it was, he used it to hit the blond against the side of the head, knocking him out cold.

The last thing he saw before blacking out completely were a set of twin lights in the murky blackness of the night.

--

_A/N: I know, I know - Sora's gotten _way_ out of character, but he has a reason. Trust me. If you were in his situation I think you'd do the same._


	12. Still

_A/N: This is the third last chapter - I told you it was gonna be short...ish._

_--_

**Still.**

Roxas' eyes drifted half-open, and the first thing he realized was that he was back in his own room.

Grunting in pain, he forced himself to sit up; he could feel the abrasions on his body from the fight, and his muscles screamed in agony when he tried to move his limbs. He pushed himself to get out of bed and he looked downwards, only to realize he was still dressed in the same clothes as yesterday. He yanked off his blood-encrusted shirt and scoured his messy room for a newer one.

He wanted to find Sora. He wanted to give that idiot brother of his a piece of his mind.

He pulled his door open and limped down the hallway, stumbling down the stairs and landing on the bottom floor with a soft thud.

"Roxas?" His mother called from the kitchen, and he cursed under his breath; his revenge would have to be taken later. He faltered into the kitchen and realized his mother was not alone: Mrs. Yamada was sitting in the seat next to her, and across was...Ansem?

"W-what-" The blond stuttered in disbelief, "-what are you all doing here-"

"Roxas, I think it's best you sit down," Ansem patted the wooden chair next to him, "There's a lot we have to discuss."

"What is there to discuss?" The boy spat, "My brother somehow traveled all the way across town to kick my ass in a mental hospital, and then _dragged_ me out into the parking lot and clubbed me in the head!"

His mother choked on a sob; she was crying? "R-Roxas, honey, I-I really don't know how to say this to you-" She shook her head and stopped herself from finishing her sentence; Mrs. Yamada gave her a comforting pat on the shoulder and handed her a tissue.

"Mom?" Roxas blinked, "What's wrong? Why are you crying?" He leaned against the doorframe so he wouldn't have to use his legs so much, "Did Sora do something to you?"

"Roxas, sit down." Ansem instructed again, this time a little more sternly.

"No - I want to know why my mother is crying," Roxas growled, "Where the hell is Sora? Where's Xion? Shouldn't they be here too?" The three adults exchanged dismal looks, and it made the blond even more frustrated. "What is going on?!"

"Roxas," Mrs. Yamada said his name slowly, "Do you remember what happened in the summer nearly eight years ago?"

"What? What does that have to do with-"

"Just answer the question, Roxas." His mother's voice was hard, and it caught him off guard.

"Er-" He wracked his sore brain for an answer, "-I remember going to the beach a lot with my brother and sister...my dad would drive us and we'd spend the day there." He remembered the shattered picture frame in his room. "That was basically the only thing that happened that summer...why?"

His mother blew on her tissue. "D-d'you...do you remember the accident?"

_Accident?_ "What accident?"

"It was all over the news," Ansem shook his head, "While you were at the beach it started to rain, so your father decided to leave early. It was very rainy and dark on the road home…"

The twin lights in the murky darkness. Roxas felt his heart stop.

"You and your father survived, Roxas," Mrs. Yamada explained gravely as his mother began to cry again, "But...your brother and sister…"

No. No. No.

That wasn't possible.

"How? They can't-" Roxas shook his head, "-I go to school with them, I drop them off at home every day before I go to the psych ward! I talk to them, I call them on their phones-"

"You were in therapy for many months after the accident, Roxas," There was a frown on his guidance counselor's aged features, "After two years we thought you had gotten over the experience - you seemed to have forgotten everything that happened, and you were living normally. You went to school, you made friends - you were a healthy child."

"B-but," His mother stammered through her tears, "When...when you started your last year of h-high school you began to change. You...you started talking...talking to people that w-weren't there. You called them..._Xion_ and _Sora._ You...you were acting as if they were still alive."

The lump in Roxas' throat had grown so large he wasn't sure if he could swallow it. "N-no, that can't be possible - they...they did their community hours. Sora did his at the rec centre with Hayner, a-and Xion and Olette worked at the daycare-"

"It was all you, Roxas," Mrs. Yamada pushed forward a couple of papers on the table; Roxas limped over to see what they were - they were the sheets students used to record their hours. On the bottom of one paper Sora had signed his name - _Sora Takashi - _and on the other was Xion - _Xion Takashi._ The two signatures looked entirely different. "You went with Hayner and Olette to the recreation centre and the daycare and finished your hours, but when you recorded them into your papers you signed under your brother and sister's names."

"I don't write like that," The blond answered quickly, "And wouldn't Hayner and Olette _know_ if I'm acting under someone else, especially if I was pretending to be my _sister?"_

"You become a completely different person when you switch personalities, Roxas," Ansem frowned, "Many things change, from the way you speak right down to the way you write."

"As for your friends we told them not to say anything," Mrs. Yamada explained, "Because it's not advisable to inform such things to people with your...condition when they're having an episode."

"So you decide to dump the info on me _now?"_ Roxas threw his hands up and laughed dryly, "So what was the whole purpose of sending me to the mental hospital?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Ansem quirked a blond eyebrow, "Your mother and Mrs. Yamada informed me of your condition earlier this year and they wanted me to supervise you. I didn't think there was anything wrong until you began to tell me that you couldn't sleep at night, though you remember _falling_ asleep."

"So what's this all supposed to mean? When I'm 'asleep'-" The blond made mock quotation marks with his fingers, "-I'm pretending to be my brother and sister?"

"Precisely," Ansem nodded, "We...we kept a hidden camera in your room to watch you when you're asleep." He held up a couple discs. "I also have security footage of your fight in the hospital from last night. We should watch it now - it'll help us to convince you that Sora and Xion are indeed deceased."

The group moved over to the living room, and Ansem bent over the DVD player to pop one of the discs in. Roxas sat stubbornly on the edge of the sofa with his head leaning into his palm; this was so stupid - Sora and Xion are _alive..._aren't they?

The television screen flickered, and suddenly it was projecting a shot of Roxas' room. The blond was sitting up on the edge of his bed; his eyes were glazed over, like he was daydreaming. He was muttering inaudibly; he stood up and began to pace his room, moving his hands around as if he was talking to somebody. Sometimes his voice would raise a few octaves higher to imitate Xion's, and sometimes it would lower a little so it could sound like Sora's.

Roxas stared blanky into the screen as he watched himself sift through his siblings' personalities; he could hear his mother sobbing beside him and Mrs. Yamada trying to comfort her. Was this...was this really happening when he _thought_ he was asleep?

Ansem ejected the disc and inserted another one. The screen flickered again; this time it showed a white hallway - the hallway outside Naminé's room. Roxas was standing by himself in front of the doorway, arguing with himself.

"I _knew_ Naminé was behind all of this-" He was speaking as Sora again, "-leave it to a girl to take your own brother away from you! You really don't remember anything at all, do you?"

"Sora, you're acting stupid." He was talking regularly now. "Can you please just go home and we'll solve this later? This isn't exactly the bes-"

This was when the fight commenced; he heard voices struggling and grunting from the doorway and Axel asking him what was going on. The next few scenes of the security video was so shocking Roxas couldn't feel his fingers.

The Roxas in the video was dragging _himself_ out of the room; he was on the floor, moving backwards and fighting like somebody was holding him by the hair. It was as if somebody removed Sora with an editing program; Roxas was staring into the screen with eyes so wide they were beginning to tear up. He watched as he threw himself down the stairs, and then stand up and pinning himself against the wall; he shook his head in disbelief as he watched the Roxas in the television screen raise his hand to slap himself in the face, and then he grabbed himself by the neck and hauled down a few more stairs and out of the hospital.

The camera switched to another one outside the parking lot; Roxas threw himself in the car, and he stayed there for a few minutes before walking out and moving into the driver's seat. The car started, and he drove out of the parking lot like there was nothing unusual going on.

"'Sora' supposedly knocked you out with a first-aid kit from the glove compartment," Ansem explained grimly, "And then he drove you back here, where you began to drag yourself up the stairs and into your room."

At this point Roxas' hands were shaking so bad he had to stuff them in his pockets. "S-so…" He shook his spiky head, "All this time...all these months...I've been..._talking_ to myself?"

His mother nodded and dabbed at her eyes with a piece of tissue. "Y-yes - I should've called Ansem the moment you began to do it, but I thought it was just a passing phase…"

"But…" The blond's brow furrowed, "I remember...Sora...he had soccer practice one weekend. He hurt his leg - there was this big cut right across-" He looked downwards at his own leg; he felt the three adults' eyes on him as he bent over to roll his jeans up. When he spotted the shiny scar on his shin, shaped in the exact same cut he remembered seeing on Sora's leg, he felt the tears come to his eyes. "-o-oh…"

"I can help you, Roxas," He felt Ansem's large hand on his trembling shoulder, "We can fight this together." He gestured towards Mrs. Yamada and his sobbing mother. "All of us."

"Please, Roxas," His mother begged him; she leaned forward and grabbed his hand, "Go with Dr. Mafuyu. He'll help you get better."

The blond swallowed hard. He furiously blinked the tears away and squeezed his mother's hand. "I...I don't really have a choice, do I?" He laughed sarcastically, "I mean, what good would it do if I just stayed here? I'd be talking to myself for the rest of my life. I might as well go somewhere where there are people that think the same as I do...somewhat."

"Oh, please don't take this the wrong way, honey," His mother cried, "I just want what's best for you. I want you to get better, I really do."

His eyes lowered to their joined hands. "I-I know you do," He mumbled; the tears dripped out of his blue eyes and splashed on top of his knuckles, "And I want to get better too...I don't want to talk to myself anymore." He glanced up at Ansem. "When are we going?"

"As soon as possible." He gave the boy a sad smile. "I'll be waiting outside."

Roxas stood up on shaky legs and forced himself up the stairs. When he reached his room he found Sora sitting on the edge of his bed with an apologetic smile on his face.

"Sorry, bro," He said sadly, "I didn't want you to find out this way."

_He doesn't exist,_ the blond told himself as he moved around his room to pack his things, _He's not really there. He doesn't exist._

"Hey, don't you try and ignore me just because you know now!" Sora shouted, "Imaginary or not I'm still your brother!"

"Stop it, Sora." Xion chided; she had suddenly materialized beside the brunet.

When Roxas finished stuffing whatever he could into his bag he slung it over his shoulder and left his room. He eyed the two doors down the hallway, the two doors he thought belonged to his siblings. When he opened them he was only greeted with bland, empty guest rooms.

He hugged his mother and thanked Mrs. Yamada for her help before leaving the house for what he hoped would not be the last time in his life; Ansem was waiting for him in the driver's seat of a slick black Mercedes.

"I'm very, very sorry, Roxas," Ansem's tone was solemn as the boy clambered into the passenger's seat, "I wouldn't have wanted this to happen to someone like you."

The blond shrugged his shoulders, unsure of what to make of all of this. He eyed a sheet of paper wedged in between Ansem's seat and the gear shifter, and he pulled it out to examine it; it just so happened to be his own patient profile:

_**Takashi, Roxas**_

_18 years of age; male_

_Recently inducted resident of Twilight Psychiatric Facility_

_Points of Interest: Has severe insomnia and random migraine spells; temper is often short and somewhat difficult to manage. Has shown cases of amnesia due to a traumatic experience from childhood_

_Diagnosis: _Dissociative Identity Disorder:_ Often shifts in between the alter egos of his deceased brother and sister Sora and Xion, respectively. Can show aggressive and violent behaviour; volunteers and employees are to take extreme caution when handling patient._

Roxas let out a dry laugh. "So the tables have turned, eh? Now _I'm_ the one that needs to be looked after."

Ansem was silent for a few seconds before answering. "In a sense, Roxas, you were the one that was being watched the entire time."

The blond boy sighed and glanced into the rearview mirror; Sora and Xion were sitting in the back seats, staring at him with expressionless faces. He tore his gaze away from the mirror and tried to concentrate on the passing scenery outside his window, but he could not shake off the feeling of his siblings' eyes on the back of his seat.

When they reached the mental hospital Ansem showed him his new room; he purposely assigned him to the room just across Naminé's.

"I know it's a little daunting for you at the moment," The older blond placed a hand on his shoulder, "So I thought having someone you know close by will be a bit of a comfort to you."

He could hear Sora's footsteps wandering around the room. "T-thanks."

"Those clothes on the bed are the ones you will be wearing for most of the time - you best change into them as soon as possible," Ansem pointed to the pile of white clothing sitting on the foot of the white mattress, "And when it's evening and you're feeling a little restless you can always call one of the nurses to give you sleeping medication."

"Okay. Thanks again." He watched Ansem close the door before he leaned over to grab the white clothes. He sighed, staring at the bland outfit before wriggling out of his jeans and t-shirt and changing into them. He spotted the white shoes on the floor and stepped into them; he felt so insignificant in these clothes for some reason.

"So," Sora appeared just a few feet in front of him with his hands behind his back; he, too was wearing the same all-white outfit, "This is where you're gonna stay for the rest of your life, hm? At least it's clean."

Roxas groaned and swung his legs over the mattress, lying down and pressing a pillow to his ear. "You're not real," He muttered to himself as he clamped his eyes shut, "You're just in my head, you're not real…"

"Stop trying to drown me out, Roxas," Sora demanded, "It's not going to work. Just face it - you're insane, and there's no way you're _ever_ going to get me out of that twisted head of yours. Sure, you stopped thinking about me and Xion for a few years after the accident but you never _really _forgot - you just stashed away your memories of us in the deepest, darkest corners of your mind. Why can't you just admit that you're guilty?"

Roxas' eyes fluttered half-open. "G-guilty of what?"

"Guilty of the fact that you were the only survivor of the accident - besides Dad, of course." He could hear the sneer in his brother's voice. "You remember the promise we made, don't we? The three of us promised we'd stick together 'till the very end, and that no matter what we'd do we'd always be by each other's side. When the accident happened and Xion and I died you were devastated - why didn't _you_ die with the both of us? Weren't we supposed to be together no matter what?" Sora scoffed, "Someone up there must like you, Roxas."

"Please," The blond begged, "Sora, just go away. I don't want to see or talk to you anymore. Go away, please. You're not real," He threw the pillow aside and clutched his tousled head. "You're just in my head, just in my head…" The tears squeezed out of his eyes and dampened the sheets, and it worsened when Sora's bellowing laughter echoed throughout the bland room.

"You're making yourself look even more pathetic than you already are," He smirked, "So don't even try, Roxas. It's not going to work. Maybe you can just-"

Sora just stopped talking all of a sudden. Roxas sat up and turned around slowly; he was gone. When he glanced at the doorway he spotted a small blonde girl wearing a white dress and no shoes standing shyly by the door with her hands clasped behind her back. He smiled and opened his arms to her, and she smiled back and made her way towards the bed. She crawled into his embrace, and he leaned against the wall as he hugged her close to his body, pressing his cheek against her hair and closing his eyes. He could feel her heartbeat against his palm as he rubbed circles on her back. When he opened his eyes he found Sora leaning against the opposite wall, staring at him with the same blank expression he was using when they were in the car. Xion was standing beside him, wearing the same white outfit and looking just as stony as her brother.

Naminé glanced over her shoulder to see what Roxas was staring at; when she saw nothing she glanced up at him, and he looked down at her. She was still smiling, though there was a hint of sadness in it as well. She pecked him on the corner of his mouth and nuzzled her head against his neck, squeezing his waist affectionately.

"You're still my prince." She whispered.

_--_

_A/N: So I went Fight Club on all of you! I really didn't expect things to turn out this way - originally I was just going to focus on Naminé's past but then the idea of Roxas going crazy too was so intriguing...I just had to add it in._

_Sora's so out of character in this story...I actually would've imagined it to be the other way around, where Sora's the one with the multiple personalities and Roxas is the 'bad' alter ego, but whatever. That's the way the cookie crumbles._

_This chapter has been inspired by blink-182's _Stockholm Syndrome.


	13. Real

_A/N: Second last chapter!_

--

**Real.**

Roxas' eyes opened slowly the next morning; he groaned and sat up, rubbing his head. The effects of the sleeping medication the nurses forced him to take the night before were still hovering over him; he could feel the drowsiness threatening to take over his body and there was a dull aching at the back of his head. He swung his legs over the edge of the bed and set his bare feet on the cold linoleum floor, and he rubbed his face with his hands.

"Did you sleep?" He raised his tousled blond head and eyed his brother, who was standing a few feet away from him, "Did those meds help you?" He sounded concerned, but Roxas knew it was just a cover.

"Sora, don't act like you care," He spat as he rose to his feet; his knees felt weak for some reason and he held onto the bedpost for support, "Because I know you don't." He groaned as the aching in his head worsened. "Why didn't you listen to Xion? She said to leave me alone!"

"Xion? Don't you mean _you?"_ The brunet laughed darkly, "We're figments of your imagination, remember? There's a reason why you're stuck here wearing those clothes!"

Right on cue their half-sister materialized beside Roxas; she placed a hand on his shoulder, and her touch felt so real he wasn't even sure if he was imagining it anymore. "I'm really sorry, Roxas," She apologized; her blue eyes were solemn, "I would've never wanted this to happen to you."

He smiled his best for her, and he hesitantly raised his hand to place it on top of hers. He knew it really wasn't there, but it felt so _real._ "I know, Xion, but this is the way things are and I'm gonna have to find a way to work around it."

"Aw, c'mon Roxas - you can't just forget about us, if that's what you're implying," Sora crossed his arms, "Admit it - even though this was all just a part of your big make-believe game we had fun!"

"It was only fun because I _thought_ you guys were really there," The blond growled as his hands clenched into fists, "None of you were nice enough to tell me that I was just playing around with my imaginary brother and sister!"

"Well it's not like we _could_ tell you," The brunet countered, "We're part of _your_ imagination - you didn't know we weren't real, so we didn't either."

"But you do now," Roxas raised an eyebrow, "And you seemed to know when I went up to my room after I found out."

"That's because we weren't 'with' you when Ansem and Mom and Mrs. Yamagata told you," Xion explained, "We were, I guess, stowed away in your head - then when you went up to your room we came out again."

"Is there anything that triggers your appearances?" Roxas asked wearily; he knew he was wasting his time talking to himself, but at the same time he knew he was the only one who could answer his questions, "I mean, do I have to feel a certain way or something to see you guys?"

"Beats me," Sora shrugged, "We're not the ones with made-up alter-egos."

"Roxas," All three siblings' heads turned towards the door; a nurse was standing impatiently with her arms crossed, "It's time to wash up for the morning."

"Okay." He gave his brother and sister one last wary look before following the woman out of the room and down a few hallways towards the baths. At least she gave him privacy in the shower - the last thing he needed right now was to be _constantly_ supervised like he was unable to do anything on his own. He was sane enough to keep up his personal hygiene, thank you.

Once he changed into a new set of white clothes the nurse approached him again with a small paper cup full of his pills and a bottle of water. He diligently took his medication and sipped at his water, and he made sure to open his mouth and lift his tongue to show the nurse that he really swallowed it all down.

"You're good to go." He gave the nurse a small, grateful grin and shuffled towards the lounge room. Axel, Larxene and Demyx were sitting by the far table as usual.

"Hey Roxas," Larxene simpered as he sat down across from her, "Or are you Sora? No, wait - I think you're Xion."

He groaned and pressed his face into his palms. "Please, Larxene - I'm not in the mood."

The blonde rolled her eyes. "Yep - you're Roxas, all right."

"I never saw this coming," Demyx leaned back against his chair and crossed his hands behind his head, "Ansem and those doctors sure are sneaky."

"Now you know why I couldn't help you when you were fighting your 'brother'-" Axel made mock quotation marks with his fingers, "-I didn't know _how_ to help you when you were really just fighting yourself!"

"It's okay, Axel," Roxas muttered through his fingers, "I wouldn't know how to help myself either - I _still_ don't know how to help myself. I'm trying to accept the fact that I _am_ crazy and that I deserve to be here-"

"Don't say that," The musician interrupted, "You're acting as if you're gonna be here for the rest of your life."

"It sure looks like it," The blond sighed, "I mean, I keep seeing them, and I know they're not really there but I'm always compelled to talk to them. I don't know why."

"It's understandable, Roxas," The pyromaniac rubbed the back of his neck, "What you went through - the car accident and everything - it's traumatizing. Any kid would need therapy after that."

"But how could I _forget_ that I got into a car accident that killed my brother and sister?"

"It's usually part of what your mind does and what those therapy sessions did to you," Larxene explained, though she was staring at her nails while she was doing it, "Naturally when you experience something as harrowing as a death of a close one your mind tries to suppress the memory - no one likes to remember painful memories, right? Then your the_rapist_ helps to suppress them even more, squeezing them into compact-sized cubes and shoving them in the deepest, darkest corners of your mind. Overtime you forget, but sometimes it goes a little haywire and it backfires - just like what happened to you."

Roxas heaved another sigh and glanced upwards, eyeing his friends. Axel and Demyx looked concerned while Larxene looked completely unfazed. Behind them he could see the tips of Sora's gravity-defying hair, and he shook his head and blinked furiously in a vain attempt to try and make him disappear. When the brunet stepped out from behind Axel he groaned, but he ignored him. "I-I guess so," The blond mumbled, "But...how am I supposed to get rid of this?"

Demyx gave him a rueful smile. "I wish we could answer that for you."

"Or maybe somebody else can." Axel was smirking at the doorway; everyone turned to see what he was looking at, and when Roxas eyed the small, flaxen-haired girl smiling shyly by the entrance to the lounge Sora immediately vanished into thin air.

"Roxas," Naminé's voice was soft like always, and she drifted over towards them. Instead of sitting on the chair to his right she sat on his lap; the contact made him blush but he shook it off when the scent of her hair wafted into his nostrils. He smiled warmly as she leaned in to wrap her thin arms around his neck, and he buried his face in her shoulder as he hugged her waist. She turned her head away from him to wave at the three young adults sitting on the opposite side of the table, and she smiled diffidently at them when Axel and Demyx (Larxene only gave a curt nod) waved back.

"How are you this morning, Naminé?" The musician asked, "Did you sleep well?"

The smallest blonde shrugged her puny shoulders. "I only got a few hours, but I think I can manage."

Roxas chuckled sadly and pressed his cheek against her collarbone. "You're still doing way better than I am - the only way I can sleep nowadays is if someone gives me a cupful of sleeping pills...if I don't I'll stay up the entire night talking to myself."

"Now that's something I'd like to see." Larxene chuckled, and Axel and Demyx could not help but laugh alongside her. Roxas even chuckled a little bit; if he thought about it in a lighthearted way he could see why it would be entertaining.

The flaxen-haired girl's head tilted to the side a little; the corners of her pale pink mouth were tugging downwards in a frown and her big blue eyes were sad. "So you're not feeling better yet, Roxas?"

He exchanged glances with Axel for a split second before turning back towards her and giving her a sad smile. "No, not yet, Naminé - but I will soon. As long as you're around I'm pretty sure I'll be fine."

Her pallid cheeks were now tinged a slight pink, and everyone laughed. She gave the blond a small smile and pressed her cheek against the side of his head. "Then I'll make sure to be with you as much as I possibly can."

Life as a psychiatric ward patient wasn't very eventful; the five of them spent nearly the entire day in the lounge, trying to find something to do. Naminé kept herself occupied with her crayons and drawings, but the other four were bored out of their minds. Axel, Demyx and Roxas wanted to sneak out into the arts room but there was a nurse patrolling the hallways today, so they couldn't. Larxene even tried wandering around the room, looking for a patient to terrorize but it wasn't fun when they didn't have much of a reaction.

Night finally came and the nurses arrived to usher the unresponsive patients back into their rooms. Axel and the other two young adults bid their farewells to the blondes before going to theirs.

When Roxas stood up Naminé yawned into his shoulder; she lowered her arms to his waist and nuzzled her head against his neck, and he laughed as he squeezed her lovingly. "Are you tired?" When she nodded against him he pecked her temple and guided her towards the door. "Alright, then let's get you to bed."

When they reached her room he tucked her into bed and kissed her forehead. She glanced at him solemnly for a moment, and she reached for his hand. "You're not staying?"

He gave her a contrite smile and delicately kissed her knuckles. "I have to try and get used to this place first, Naminé. When that happens I promise I'll stay with you whenever you want me to."

She nodded slowly and let go of his hand. "Okay." She raised half of her body up on her elbows to peck his cheek. "Goodnight, Roxas."

He affectionately rubbed the skin underneath her eye with his thumb. "Sweet dreams, Naminé." He flicked the light switch off before leaving her room to go to his.

Much to his relief his room was empty, which meant there was a chance he _might_ be able to sleep tonight without the help of sleeping aides. Roxas hesitantly crawled into bed, pulling the sheets over his body and resting his head on the small pillow. He breathed a sigh of relief - so far so good.

He closed his eyes and his body began to relax as fatigue washed over him; his breathing evened out and his pulse slowed as he drifted into unconsciousness. Everything seemed fine for now; he wasn't really dreaming about anything but it wasn't like he wanted to.

Suddenly he found himself sitting in the back seat of a car. It was dark, and rain was sloshing against the glass windows. He heard childish laughter on either side of him; ten-year-old versions of Sora and Xion were chatting animatedly with him, and though it looked like he wasn't responding back they kept talking to him as if he was.

The blond stared straight ahead and spotted the twin headlights flashing in their direction. His brother and sister grew quiet; they could probably see it too.

_"Daddy-"_ Xion croaked, but the lights were moving so quickly she didn't have time to finish her sentence.

The headlights slammed directly into their car; Roxas violently jerked forward but luckily his seatbelt kept him in place. He lurched to the side as the car somehow turned over, and he could feel himself losing equilibrium as the vehicle rolled off of the road and down a steep hill. His brother and sister were screaming beside him; he could faintly hear his father trying to comfort them through his bouts of pain. The blond was being knocked all over the place; he could feel Sora and Xion's heads banging against his as the car continued to roll further and further down the rain-slicked hill, and the seatbelt was pressing against his chest so tightly he feared his ribs were going to crack.

The car finally landed on solid ground, ending the horrific rolling with a loud, painful crash. The windows shattered and the broken bits of glass rained on him, slicing through the skin of his arms and legs. The roof of the car had somehow caved inwards; something must've fallen on top of it. The roar of thunder and the flash of lightning indicated that the storm was still raging onward outside.

He could no longer hear his siblings or his father; he glanced to his left and right and noticed that Sora and Xion were nowhere to be found. He hastily unbuckled his seatbelt and peered forward; his father was unconscious in the drivers' seat, and there was a wide gash sneering at him from the side of his blond head. Roxas could feel his pulse quickening as he hurriedly kicked the car door open; his body was throbbing and the rain was freezing cold against his skin but he didn't care - he needed to find his brother and sister.

He squinted through the endless sheets of rain and found them lying on the ground not too far away from the car; their limbs were twisted and bent in unnatural positions and their skin was ridden with all sorts of abrasions and contusions. Nausea swirled around inside of him and he stumbled into a nearby bush to empty the contents of his stomach. He could smell rain, soil, blood, vomit and gasoline sifting around in the wet air and it made him even more sick. His knees quivered and he sank into the muddy ground, his tired eyes automatically drifting towards his lifeless siblings. His throat tightened as the tears stung his eyes and he clutched the soil and leaves with his ten-year-old fists; they were gone. They were really gone.

They were never coming back.

You broke your promise, Roxas.

You were supposed to go with them.

No. No, no, no.

Stop. St-

"STOP!" Eighteen-year-old Roxas bolted straight up from bed, his eyes flashing and his forehead shiny with sweat. He raced out of his room and down the hallway to the nearest bathroom, shouldering the door open and slouching over the toilet. He vomited violently, clamping his eyes shut as the tears squeezed out from between his eyelids. The image of his dead siblings replayed over and over again in his head and the more he thought of it the more sick he felt.

Make it stop. Make it stop.

Memories of his childhood raced through his mind and it only compelled him to throw up more; he could hear the laughter of his siblings as they raced down the sand, trying to see who would reach the water first. He remembered the birthday parties and the Christmases they spent together, and the day they all promised they'd stick together no matter what.

_"Me, you and Xion," _Sora had tied a piece of pale pink string to all three of their pinkies, _"We're siblings - we stick together forever."_

_ "Closer than best friends," _Xion added, jostling her pinky, "_We'll never be apart."_

_ "Yeah," _He remembered himself agreeing with them, and he even remembered how the end of his pinky was slightly violet because Sora tied the string a little too tight, _"No matter what."_

Together forever, no matter what.

He flushed the toilet when he was sure he was finished and pressed his cheek against the cool porcelain bowl, resting for a few minutes before standing up on shaky legs and moving towards the sink to rinse his mouth and splash his face with some cold water. He glanced into the mirror and jumped in shock when he found his siblings standing right behind him.

"G-get away-" Roxas backed up against the sink, "-you're not real, you're not really here-"

Sora and Xion didn't say anything; they merely stood there with blank expressions on their faces. It only frightened the blond even more.

"Get away!" He burst through them, shoving past them and dashing out of the bathroom. He stumbled onto the floor, grimacing as his body slammed against the hard linoleum but he scrambled back onto his feet and resumed running. He could hear the groaning of the car rolling against the pavement in his ears, and the high-pitched screaming of him and his siblings. He clutched his head in his hands as he ran further down the hallway, and more tears flowed down his cheeks. "It's in my head, it's not real, it's not real…"

When he made his way back to his room Sora and Xion were there again, sitting on the edge of his bed. Their faces were still eerily expressionless, and Roxas felt his heartbeat quicken as he backed up against the wall.

"What do you want from me?!" He demanded, his voice high and cracking, "Why can't you just leave me alone? You're _dead - _you're not really here! You died eight years ago! You're not supposed to be here! You're _dead!"_

He could hear shuffling from outside; he was waking up the other patients. Feeling cornered Roxas sank to his knees and buried his face in his hands, sobbing like a helpless child. He could hear Sora and Xion approaching him slowly, and his shoulders began to tremble. He glanced at the floor through the spaces between his fingers and choked on a sob when he found their shadows looming over him.

"It's all in my head," He murmured to himself as he began to rock back and forth, "It's all in my head - they're not real, they're gone, they're dead...they're not here…"

He felt a cool hand on his shoulder and he twitched violently, falling onto his bottom and backing into a corner. "Don't touch me!" He growled, turning away so that his cheek was pressed against the white wall; he covered his face with his hands. "You're not real! Don't touch me!"

"Roxas…?" A soft voice called out to him, and his blue eyes popped open. Naminé was crouching right in front of him with her hands on her knees; her white-blonde head was tilted to the side and her big blue eyes were rimmed with tears. It was easy to see that she was worried about him.

He quickly glanced behind her and noticed his brother and sister had disappeared. His eyes flitted back towards her angel's face, and he laughed through his tears. "Naminé," He reached out towards her, placing his hands on her sides and pulling her onto his lap, "Oh, Naminé...I'm so glad you're here."

She held him close to her and stroked his hair, and his trembling ceased little by little. "I'm real," She whispered into his ear, "I'm real, Roxas. You're not imagining anything."

He pulled back a little to smile at her. He reached upwards to wipe her tears away before he got rid of his own. "I know you are," He chuckled as he craned his neck upwards to touch her forehead with his, "You're the most real thing in this room."

She smiled and moved to stand up; she grabbed his hands and pulled him up with her. He closed his eyes as she reached upwards to cradle his face in her small, pallid hands, and he leaned into her palm. "Do you need help sleeping, Roxas?" Her voice was quiet, delicate and beautiful - it always was.

"Yes," He sighed as he opened his eyes, "But I don't want to take any more medicine." He pulled her in and nuzzled his head against hers. "I just want to be with you."

She smiled and nodded against him. "Me too." She pulled him over to his bed and crawled onto the mattress; he followed her and draped the sheets over their bodies. When she nestled close against him and pressed her face against his neck he closed his eyes again; his fingers grazed the skin of her shoulder and he reveled in its softness, and when she sighed against him he sighed too. The scent of her hair and the feeling of her heart beating against his hand was enough to lull him to sleep, and he hugged her close to him.

This was real. It was as real as real could get, and he didn't want anything more.

"I think I might need you more often than I thought, Naminé," He chuckled sheepishly against her hair, "You're better than any pill or needle."

"That's fine with me," She mumbled drowsily against his shirt, "I can easily say the same thing about you."

He smiled and hugged her even closer to him, rubbing circles on her back and kissing her forehead. He no longer felt the lingering presence of his brother and sister hovering in the room - he never did when Naminé was around.

Maybe there was more to mental illness than clipboards, thick textbooks and pointless tests; he probably didn't even need to down a cupful of pills every morning and afternoon. Maybe there wasn't even such a thing as 'being normal' - maybe it was only a term coined by people to make them feel better about themselves. Who could define 'normal', anyway? It was such a vague term - anybody could twist it to fit their own description. Maybe the entire world was insane and people just didn't want to admit it.

Maybe the only thing he needed all this time was the small girl sleeping soundly in his arms.

_--_

_A/N: I got the the_rapist_ idea from the book/movie _Girl, Interrupted.


	14. Epilogue: Healthy In Paranoid Times

**Epilogue: Healthy In Paranoid Times.**

It was a little chilly for a July afternoon, but at least it was still sunny out. The patients were allowed to dally around the courtyard; Ansem said it was healthy to enjoy the summer sunshine every once in awhile.

Roxas strolled around the short green grass with Naminé's hand in his; it had been months since he was admitted into the hospital and though it was very different from his previous life he couldn't say he didn't like it. He had friends here, and of course he had Naminé. Whenever she was around Sora and Xion wouldn't bother him, and whenever he was with her she wouldn't get any hallucinations or sudden urges to harm herself. They were each other's cure - there was no other way to explain their relationship besides their obvious feelings for each other. He wasn't sure what it was, but he knew from the moment he saw her there was _something_ about the small artist; what it was, he'd never find out but it was something, that was for sure.

"Roxas, look," The blonde's soft voice caught his attention; she was pointing towards one of the flower beds. He smiled slightly as she pulled him closer, and he tilted his head to see what she was looking at: there was a small butterfly sitting on top of one of the flowers, and it was slowly opening and closing its vivid violet wings. The small artist let go of his hand and cupped both of hers close to the winged insect, and to his astonishment the butterfly casually walked right into her palms. Naminé's eyes were wide with a childlike awe as she watched the butterfly stroll around on her hands, and she glanced up at him.

"He seems to like you." Roxas chuckled, and she grinned before lifting her hands above her head; the butterfly gracefully took off, fluttering higher and higher into the clear summer sky. He took her hand again and raised it up to his mouth to kiss her knuckles, and his smile broadened when he noticed the faint tinge of pink smeared across her cheeks.

"Roxas?" Called a voice from the back door; both blondes turned to see who it was, and they smiled when they found the bright turquoise eyes of the psych ward's newest volunteer: Riku Yamagata. "Oh, good - you've got Naminé with you. You guys have a couple of visitors."

"Already?" Roxas raised an eyebrow, "Huh, I thought they were gonna come in the evening." He shrugged and tugged on Naminé's arm, guiding her back towards the building. They followed Riku into the visitor's area, where there were many round tables situated in a large room with a high ceiling. There were a few patients talking with their friends and families here and there.

"Roxas! Naminé!" A familiar voice boomed from one of the tables to the left; a redhead wearing a mischievous smirk was waving in their direction. Sitting beside him was a boy his age with sandy blond hair.

"Hey guys," Roxas grinned as he and Naminé moved towards the table. They sat across the young adults and he ruffled his hair with his free hand, "How's everything?"

Demyx shrugged. "Eh, we're still trying to get used to stuff; I mean, it's difficult enough to wake up every morning and decide what to wear every day!" He tugged at his white shirt. "I'm so used to wearing white...I feel weird wearing any other colour."

"You're such a girl," Axel rolled his eyes as the blonde couple laughed, "But he's got a point, somewhat: it's only been a month and I still feel like I'm supposed to be here."

"But you got better, didn't you?" Naminé asked with her white-blonde head slightly tilted to the side, "That's why they let you out."

"Yeah, but...I dunno," The former pyromaniac shrugged, "I guess it's 'cause I've been here for so long - I feel sorta...unattached from the real world, y'know what I mean? It feels weird to talk, to interact with all of these-" He shuddered, _"-normal people."_

"Especially when they _know_ you were just released from a mental hospital," Demyx shook his head, "They treat you like some kind of heathen or something."

Axel's signature smirk returned and he leaned forward to rest his elbows on the table. "Speaking of heathens, we wanted to see Larxene but apparently they locked her up in one of the padded cells. What'd she do this time?"

"The usual," Roxas shrugged as he extended his arm so that it wound around the smaller blonde's waist, "Tormenting other patients, pining for attention, complaining how the world sickens her...nothing new." He scratched the side of his head. "I hope she calms down soon, though - it scares me every time I say this, but when I _don't_ hear or see her screaming in my face at least once every day I kind of miss her."

"I know what you mean," The redhead chuckled, "She's the kind of friend you wish you never met, yet at the same time you don't want to let go of her." He eyed the intimate position the two blondes were in and gave them a sly smile. "How about you two? How are things holding up?"

The faint pink blush reappeared on Naminé's cheeks. "T-they're good," She replied shyly, "Ansem said I'm getting better - I...I haven't had an episode for a long time now," She glanced up at Roxas and smiled. "And he hasn't seen Sora or Xion for at least three weeks."

"That's great!" Demyx clapped his hands together in glee, "Does that mean the both of you are gonna get released anytime soon? Oh, that'll be so fun…"

Roxas chuckled. "I don't know, Dem, but I really hope it is. I miss home."

"What about you, Naminé?" Axel asked worriedly, "When they let you out where are you gonna go?"

"You can stay with us if you want," Demyx offered, "I need someone to keep my newly-regained sanity in check - if I spend any more time with Axel I'm gonna end up getting sent back here!"

The blonde girl laughed her silvery laugh and shook her head, leaning against Roxas' side and pressing her cheek against his collarbone. "Sorry, Demyx - Roxas said I can stay with him once we're both released."

"Ooh," Axel let out a low whistle and both blondes flushed in embarrassment, "You're already at the moving-in stage? How sweet - don't you think this is going a little too fast?"

The blond boy shook his head and tightened his arm around Naminé's waist. "Nah - I couldn't ask for anything better, really. She's the only effective cure I have." When the girl's blush worsened he chuckled and nuzzled his head against hers. "Mm, there's no need to be embarrassed, Naminé - it's the truth; it's because of you that I'm getting better." He pulled back to give her a smile, and she returned it with a small one of her own.

"All this sweet stuff's gonna give me a toothache," The redhead smirked, and the blondes flushed again, "But hey, whatever floats your boat, right? You guys are living proof that it takes more than meds to cure a sickness."

Demyx was eyeing Riku, who was helping one of the patients on the far side of the room. "So he's the new fresh meat, huh? How's he holding up?"

Roxas smirked. "Way better than me - the moment Ansem dumped him in the room it seemed like he knew what he was doing. Says that he's not doing this for the volunteer hours - he's actually in school studying to become a psychiatrist, and he's prepping up for his internship."

"Ooh, big boy," Axel snickered and the musician followed suit, "He looks like a psychiatrist anyway - he's got that _knowing_ look in his eyes."

"Or maybe this is just a cover-up, like Roxas - maybe his parents just sent him here so Ansem can keep an eye on him," Demyx shrugged, "Sure, he might _seem_ like a cool guy on the outside, but what if on the inside he's really a bloodthirsty cannibal who gouges his victims' eyeballs out with his thumbs? Then when he's finished he hides their remains under the floorboards and uses their blood to paint the walls of his house!" His eyes widened and he stood up from his seat, spreading his arms.

Axel, Roxas and Naminé blinked at the musician with concerned, horrified expressions on their young faces; the smallest blonde shrunk into the other's embrace while the former pyromaniac raised a skeptic eyebrow. A few other people in the room were staring too.

Demyx coughed awkwardly into his fist and rubbed the back of his head. "O-or he might just be a psych major looking for an internship here." He gave the entire room a nervous smile before slowly lowering back into his seat.

"And I used to think you were saner than me." Axel muttered into his hand, and the blondes laughed in unison.

The foursome continued to chat for another hour or two, and then the young adults had to leave - Demyx had just recently started a band with people that lived on the same floor as them and they had practice this evening.

"Remind me to buy earplugs on the way home," Axel smirked, "I want to be able to sleep through the night for once."

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?" The musician rolled his eyes, "At least the music we play is tolerable!"

"Yeah, but the people that play the actual music aren't." The redhead chuckled, "You've got a guy who likes to garden, a gambler who won't admit he's addicted to gambling and a guy who _always_ has some kind of pistol attached to his belt! How are they _not_ admitted into this place?"

"Sounds like an interesting bunch," Roxas laughed, "I'd like to meet them sometime."

Demyx gave him a kind smile. "Someday soon you will." He patted the blond's shoulder and gave the smaller one a hug. "We'll see you guys in a few days."

Once the musician let go of her Naminé shuffled towards Axel to give him a hug. "We'll be waiting."

The former pyromaniac smirked and playfully tousled her hair. "You better take care of her, Roxas - I'll know if you aren't!"

The blond boy rolled his eyes as he gently tugged the artist back towards him. "You know I'll always watch out for her, Axel. Later." The blondes waved as their two friends left the visitors area, and when they disappeared behind the doors Roxas sighed and pressed his cheek against the smaller blonde's hair. "So what do you want to do now?"

She glanced up at him. "Let's go outside for a bit more."

He chuckled and nodded. "Alright." He took her by the hand and gently guided her out of the visitors' area, through the hallway and back to the courtyard. The sun had long since set, and everything was shrouded in black and navy. There were a few lamp posts set up around the small garden, but the lights weren't very strong.

Roxas felt Naminé's hand leave his, and he squinted through the darkness to see where she ran off to. "Hey, where'd you go?" He sighed and stepped off the cement path onto the plush green grass, looking left and right and sighing again when he couldn't find her.

"Over here!" The artist's voice was an excited whisper, and he chuckled as he walked towards her. Naminé was standing in the middle of the garden, glancing up at a group of fireflies flitting around her head. There had to be at least fifty of the small glowing bugs; their soft orange and yellow glow bounced off the small blonde's face, glittering in her large eyes and flickering against her flaxen hair. Her mouth was slightly parted in awe as she hesitantly reached towards the cloud of light, and she jumped a little when a couple of the insects rested on her open palm.

Roxas laughed softly as he approached her, wrapping an arm around her waist and kissing the side of her head. "What's with you and bugs? Normally girls would run away and scream bloody murder."

The smaller blonde giggled as a few more fireflies danced around her fingers. "In case you've forgotten, Roxas, I'm not exactly normal."

He gave her a sad smile and nuzzled his head against hers. "Of course you are - you're more normal than a lot of people."

The subtle glow from the fireflies flickered against Naminé's face, illuminating her small smile. "I hope we'll be let out soon - I miss school. I miss walking around town. I miss a lot of things." She lightly shook her hands and the bugs flew back towards the others.

The blond boy drew her into his embrace, throwing his other arm around her and hugging her close to his chest. The fireflies flew a little higher, floating above both of their heads. Roxas rested his cheek against the smaller blonde's hair and closed his eyes. "We will be, Naminé, don't worry - and when it happens you'll come live with me, and you'll be able to go to school again. We'll hang out with Hayner, Pence and Olette every weekend."

The thought of the trio, who have visited the blondes a few times, made the pale artist smile. "I'd like that." She peered up at her companion with worried eyes. "Your mother, though...will she...will she be okay with me…?"

Roxas laughed and touched her forehead with his. "Of course she will - she loves you!" Memories of his mother's past visits flitted through his mind and his grin widened. "She's really excited, you know. She can't wait for us to get out of here - she already has your room prepared." He briefly unwound one of his arms from her waist to awkwardly rub the back of his head. "Granted, I think she's going a little overboard but I guess it's better than nothing."

Naminé giggled and eased her head into the curve of his neck. "I can't wait." She looked upwards again and smiled at the cloud of fireflies swirling above their heads. "So pretty." She murmured.

Roxas laughed again and lifted his head to watch the glowing bugs with her. Minutes later he felt the girl tremble slightly, and he looked down. "Are you cold? Maybe we should head inside - it's getting late anyway."

The smaller blonde nodded and let him pull her back towards the building. After navigating through the confusing hallways (even after a few months of living here he still gets lost from time to time) the twosome found themselves in the artist's room; they were staying here tonight since they were in his room yesterday.

Roxas stretched his arms and ruffled his hair. He watched the platinum-blonde crawl into bed and he chuckled. "Naminé," He nodded towards her feet.

The artist blushed and swung her legs over the edge of the bed. "Oops," She smiled bashfully before bending over to unbuckle her sandals, "I keep forgetting - it's been awhile since I've worn shoes."

He smiled and stepped out of his own shoes before climbing in beside her. "I know." He was about to pull the sheets over them when he felt a pair of cool hands on either side of his head. He slowly turned towards her and eyed the sheepish expression on her petite face. "What is it, Naminé?" He asked quietly, reaching upwards to enclose his hands around her wrists.

The artist's usually ashen face was beet-red, and she was biting her bottom lip. "S-stay still." She ordered quietly, and his heartbeat quickened as she began to lean in slowly towards him. There was a moment where he could feel her eyelashes against his cheeks as they fluttered to a close, and when he felt her lips brush against his he sucked in a sharp breath. His hands slowly moved from her wrists to press themselves against the small of her back, pulling her body closer against his. Seconds afterward she began to pull away, but he kept his hold on her and brought her back in. He deepened the second kiss, gently parting her mouth with his and slowly probing inwards with his tongue. She gasped against him and he grinned as he shifted to lower both of their bodies against the mattress. They finally broke apart sometime later, gasping for breath and laughing softly.

"Breathe slowly." He whispered to her, reaching upwards to tuck a few strands of hair behind her ear. He grazed his thumb underneath her eye, reveling in the warmth of her blush.

She smiled shyly and placed her hand over his, pressing her cheek against his palm. Her grey-blue eyes were flickering vividly, and her chest was heaving slightly from lack of breath. Naminé lowered her head to his chest, yawning against him and clutching his shirt with a small fist. He was sure she could hear his stuttering pulse. "I'm sleepy." She mumbled as she nestled closer to him.

Roxas gently placed her by his side and sat up briefly to grab the white sheets. He raised the covers to her shoulders before lying next to her. The second he was lying down Naminé scooted towards him, snaking her thin arms around his neck and resting her cheek against his collarbone. She hummed in pleasure as he hugged her waist and buried his face in her soft hair.

"'Night, Roxas." The artist half-yawned, half-murmured.

The blond boy chuckled and kissed her forehead. "Sweet dreams, Naminé." He massaged her back as she relaxed in his arms, falling asleep quickly - she always slept first. It wasn't like he minded or anything; he always made sure she was asleep first anyway. That way he knew she would be safe when he was unconscious.

Before closing his eyes for the night he took a quick look around the room. He developed a habit out of this - he didn't want any unexpected visitors - and when he found nothing (and nobody) he sighed in relief. His eyes lingered on the walls for a few seconds, smiling at the various drawings Naminé had taped up in an attempt to give the place some colour. Most, if not all of them were of a blond boy and a blonde girl. Some of the drawings looked a little more realistic and proportionate: Ansem theorized that her talent was coming back due to her recovery.

He wondered if he was changing, now that he was getting better. The hallucinations have ceased, that was one thing, but was there anything else? He wasn't so sure.

Naminé stirred against him, mumbling inaudibly and snuggling closer. He held her tighter and kissed her forehead again, and he smiled when she sighed and nuzzled her head against his neck. He closed his eyes against her hair, figuring it was safe to sleep for tonight. There weren't going to be any hallucinations, no nightmares, no-

A faint shifting was heard on the opposite side of the room - footsteps? - and Roxas' eyes snapped open. He quickly glanced over his shoulder, his pulse racing as he anxiously searched around. When he came up empty he sighed and shook his head, turning back around to rest against Naminé. He felt a little ridiculous and chuckled to himself before closing his eyes again.

He was thinking too much.

--

_A/N: The title of this chapter is taken from an Our Lady Peace album. One of its songs, _Angels/Losing/Sleep _was a big inspiration for the story._

_Part of Demyx's theory of Riku's _real_ purpose at the psych ward is taken from a few lyrics of the song _Ride The Wings Of Pestilence _by From First To Last._

_I hoped you guys liked this short, dark, rushed story - I wrote it on a whim, so if you think the plot's been rushed or there's a billion mistakes in each chapter that's my only excuse - and I thank you all for reading and reviewing!_


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